A Little Thing Called Love
by darkshadow36
Summary: CH.8 UP! S&S, best friends who never knew what 'true love' really meant. Due to certain heartbreaks and curiosity, they agreed to be a couple for 100 days. Will they end up falling for each other? Please R&R! Mixed with mystery and stuff...
1. The PoPKids and the JazZKids

**TITLE: "A Little Thing Called 'Love'"  
GENRE: Romance/Angst  
RATING: PG-13  
SUMMARY: Syaoran and Sakura—best friends who never knew what true love meant. To end their curiosity, they agreed to be a couple for 100 days. What do you think will happen?**

**AUTHOR'S NOTES with darkshadow36:**

_Ohayo gozaimasu, minna-san! Hajimemashite? darkshadow36 desu._ Hope you're all fine and ready to rock with the story! Thanks for finding my plot interesting.

BTW, OCs here are mine. AND, I'll only say this once—I don't own CCS! They're part of CLAMP's wonderful works.

DEDICATIONS: I fully dedicate this to all of you especially to my newest friend here in – _Sakura-Angel-Blossom_, to my faraway friend _rosequartz_… Also to my besties—_mauinetan_i and _Van Daisuke_! You guys are the best! It's ok if you're not reading this right now... I just want to show you how I feel now through this story.

**_: MAIN CHARACTERS:_**

**Li Syaoran** – 16-year old; the school's popular guy heartthrob and Tomoyo's closest friend  
**Sakura Kinomoto** – 15; just your average girl and always engages in fights; closest friend is Eriol  
**Tomoyo Daidouji** – 15; Eriol's talented girlfriend  
**Eriol Hiiragizawa** – a 17-year old 3-point shooter in basketball; another school heartthrob

**_: SUMMARY FOR CHAPTER 1:_** It's all about the friendship of the four. How things began… and their real personalities…

**CHAPTER 1: The PoPKids and the JazZKids**

Our setting is at the Basketball Court of Redstone School. So, what popped into your mind when you've read the first sentence?

Maybe you have probably thought about some players playing in the court. Well, yes… There are players playing in the court!

It was the _Redstone Phoenixes and the Easternbridge Tigers_. It's already the last quarter of the game.

Redstone High has 2 MVPs when it comes to basketball. And it's no other than Li Syaoran—the basketball player who always manages to get the rebounds and make it to the basket, while Hiiragizawa Eriol is known for being a 3-point shooter. Both are from the juniors. Maybe it came to your mind that they're too old to be juniors, somehow. Anyways, both lads have the looks, the body (hmm…), and the brains!

No wonder the high school girls from Redstone keep on yelling and cheering. These girls—from the freshmen, the sophomores, the juniors, and even the seniors! would want to be with them. The two are famous throughout the whole school. Even students from the elementary department recognize them and know them. The Redstone school paper "GIANT STONE", gets to publish things about them in each issue (students receive school paper copies 3 times each school year). This has been going around since they entered the high school department and proved that they're worthy to enter interschool competitions when they joined the varsity club in first year.

However, even though they're famous, they think like ordinary people, and they are ordinary people too, like us. They don't mind the attention they receive, the autographs they sign, and stuff like that. What matters most to them both is that they have friends and families to support them, and to make people happy. Of course they know no one's that perfect.

"WOO!" the girls cheered. Syaoran made a mad dash and did a lay-up and the ball went straight to the basket.

"The rebound, Li!" yelled Yamazaki, their center.

Kinomoto Sakura looked at them, wide-eyed. She wondered if these girls run out of voice. Daidouji Tomoyo nudged her friend's arm, grinning.

"C'mon, Sakura-chan," she said, "as if you never got used to them. Ah-hey! Look at Karen Yu—she's jumping wildly on her seat!" She laughed. Karen Yu was one of those rich girls who put up a Syaoran Fan Club, which actually annoyed Syaoran.

Sakura seemed not to have heard. "Look at that!"

"What?" inquired Tomoyo.

"Look at that! Over there!" she repeated. "Eriol made another three-point shot! And with a nice swerve move!"

"The score is 95-93!" yelled the announcer. "The Phoenixes are leading! OHMY! 2 minutes left!"

Tomoyo looked at Eriol. The last thing she saw was Eriol made the _team handshake_ with his teammates. She sighed. She was a new student and she still doesn't know things in Redstone. She has heard about Eriol but she had never imagined that he would be that hot and handsome and cool. Syaoran was her classmate, while Sakura and Eriol were classmates.

Sakura had been looking at Tomoyo. She giggled.

"You like my closest friend, do you?" she tickled Tomoyo in the ribs, making her moan and laugh.

"He's your closest friend? I thought it was Syaoran-kun."

"Li-kun?" Sakura's eyes reverted back to the game. "He's only my best friend, and you're the closest of friends. Eriol-kun happens to be the one I usually approach for problems, though."

"I didn't know that," Tomoyo nodded. "Gee…"

Sakura's eyes widened again.

"What is it this time?" Tomoyo chewed her bottom lip. Sakura looked at her with those menacing eyes.

"What?" repeated Tomoyo.

"You still haven't answered my question yet."

"What question?"

"Don't pretend that you don't know 'coz I know you know and that's there is to it. Now give me an answer. Yes or No?"

Tomoyo remembered. But she tried her best to put up a face that shows an 'I-don't-know' expression.

"You're lying," Sakura insisted. Tomoyo breathed. There really is no way of escaping from Sakura's persistent nature.

"C'mon… Admit it…"

Tomoyo finally gave in.

"ALL RIGHT! I do like him!" she yelled.

"Oops…" she realized that all eyes were rested upon her. The players stared around and soon found out where the yell came from.

Eriol had already let go of the ball when the clock signaled that it was just one second left. He had aimed for a 3-point shot. The score was 97-97, tie.

GAME OVER.

Tomoyo was indeed, embarrassed. Eriol shot a glance at her. They were looking at each other eye to eye. Tomoyo blushed and looked away.

But of course the game must go on. The moment Tomoyo settled down after she yelled, the ball exactly went into the basket.

"Ladies and gentlemen… the Phoenixes win with a score of 100-97!"

The crowd from Redstone cheered. Meanwhile, back at the crowd, the Tigers gladly shook hands with the Phoenixes.

"Nice game," they said.

"Thanks, Kimisaki," Syaoran told the center of the Tigers. "You did great, too."

**_…at the main hall…_**

"One of the best games I've ever seen! Especially you, Eriol-kun!" Sakura pinched Eriol's cheeks.

"That hurts, Sakura-chan!" Eriol moaned.

Tomoyo was pink. "Yeah… you did very well," she said shortly.

"But… We wouldn't have made it too if not for the _King of Rebound_—Syaoran!" Sakura beamed.

Syaoran's hand went up his head. "Well… Uh…"

"Admit it, dude!" Sakura whacked her best friend's back.

"But there's another_ teeny winy_ thing that completed the game…" Eriol was looking at Tomoyo, who was looking away. "What did you just do awhile ago, Daidouji-san? Who were you referring to when you yelled…_ those words_?" He asked hesitantly. A tinge of red on his cheeks can be seen brightly under the promising sun.

Sakura cut in before Tomoyo spoke. She was doing her best to change the subject because she wanted to protect her friend. "Ah… Well… It was a line from her script in… English."

"But… We don't have—"

"I was referring to you." Tomoyo admitted. Eriol grew quiet, and so were the two. "I like you. I admire you so much. I'm always eager to see you every morning here in school ever since Syaoran introduced you to me."

"Tomoyo?" Sakura broke the silence. "Uhmm… We're supposed to have lunch in the cafeteria. You two… Isn't it that you still have to change clothes?" She looked pleadingly at Syaoran, who knew what she meant.

Tomoyo realized that she actually uttered those words in front of him. She thought it was one of the biggest mistakes she has ever committed.

Sakura pulled Tomoyo close to her and then they walked fast towards the cafeteria. Syaoran pulled Eriol too and urged him to go with him to the dressing room for guys.

"To tell you the truth, Tomoyo… That seemed very foolish… But straightforward! I couldn't do that if I were you…" she grinned. The latter was crying.

"What now?" Sakura shook Tomoyo's shoulders.

"I can't believe I told Hiiragizawa-kun… I wonder what's it like to be his girlfriend… Deep inside me I wish he'd court me and then we'll—"

"Don't be offended, Daidouji, but I'm going to make Hiiragizawa mine," someone spoke behind them. It was Yumina Honshu, one of Karen's friends who put up an Eriol Fan Club.

"What made you say that he's going to be your girlfriend, eh?" Sakura pushed Yumina hard. The people smiled, for they knew it was another fight. They crowded around the two. Tomoyo was left among the crowd, shivering.

"Sakura-chan, please stop! I'm begging you!"

"Stay out of this, Tomoyo-chan!" Sakura said defiantly. "This is our fight. Stay out of this!"

Yumina hit Sakura's arm angrily. Sakura looked at her arm and saw a dark bruise. But she was still determined to win her fight. And so she punched Yumina's nose, which bleed.

"Hiiragizawa is mine!" Yumina's voice was threatening. "So stop it."

"He's my closest and is my childhood friend," Sakura whispered back. "I can never let him marry an asshole." She smiled impishly. "I'm one of the people you can never escape. I've power over words."

"Yeah, I know." She pulled Sakura's hair.

"GO KINOMOTO!"

"GO HONSHU!"

The crowd was cheering.

Meanwhile, Syaoran and Eriol saw that there seemed like a commotion in the cafeteria because a crowd had gathered there.

"What's wrong?" Syaoran asked a freshman from the crowd.

"It's a fight between Kinomoto and Honshu," the boy answered. "I think they're from the batch of this year's juniors."

Upon hearing Sakura's last name, he made his way through the crowd. The two girls were bleeding.

Syaoran was indeed, surprised. Sakura studied judo and martial arts, no wonder Yumina has more wounds than she has.

"Stop this madness!" he tried his best to stop them. But he failed.

"STOP!" Eriol entered the scene. He saw Tomoyo and without hesitating, he held Tomoyo's hand and kissed her immediately.

"I'm taken," he said simply, smiling. He was as red as a tomato, though. Yumina was taken aback. Sakura was laughing as always.

"See that, Honshu?" Sakura put a finger on Yumina's forehead.

"Oh, shit! I forgot to bring my camera for the school paper!" said a sophomore from the crowd.

"Kinomoto and Honshu! Detention for you two!" yelled Ms. Yano, the high school discipline coordinator of Redstone.

Sakura wasn't surprise to hear this. She gets to visit the principal's office at least twice or thrice a month. On the other hand, Yumina was complaining.

"She started it!" she said indignantly.

**_…dismissal at the waiting area… 2 lovebirds talking with low voices… _**

_"Really? I… I don't want to believe it…"_

_"Yes, Tomoyo… I think I like you too,"_ smiled Eriol. _"I like you. I admire you too. Everyday, I would go to school early and eagerly wait for you at the school gate…"_ He grinned. _"What do you say? I'll give you time to think."_

"Hai…" beamed Tomoyo. "Thanks, Hiiragizawa-kun."

"Are you finished talking?" Syaoran came bringing two cans of light coke.

"_Arigatou gozaimasu_!" The two lovebirds chorused. They blushed.

"I wonder if Sakura has already got out of Yano's _cabbage-smelling_ office…" Syaoran muttered under his breath.

"I'm back and just fine," Sakura came back with a big smile.

"What happened?" Tomoyo asked.

Sakura sat down. "Yumina was the one blamed." She laughed.

"But—how?" Eriol asked eagerly.

"That I cannot tell," replied Sakura. "Oh… Honshu is such a bonehead, y'know. I told her that I've got power over words while we were fighting yet the ass didn't believe me at all."

Syaoran patted Sakura on the back. "I just wonder… Kinomoto-san," he said, "why do you cuss so much?" Yet he was grinning.

"I just like it!" Sakura reasoned out. "I'm what I call… a _JazZkid_. That's a big letter J and a big letter Z."

"But what does that mean? Sounds new to me," Tomoyo looked at her friend questioningly.

Sakura chewed her lip. "It's actually just a new name for _'just an ordinary kid'_," she explained. "I don't know if you know what I mean, though."

"I know…" agreed Eriol. "And I think there's also something you called… _PoPkids_? The two Ps are big since they're short for_ popular_."

"Really? Now that's something new I learned today!" Tomoyo exclaimed. They all chuckled, and then hugged each other, as a sign of their friendship.

**TBC**

**AUTHOR'S NOTES with darkshadow36:**

BTW, the plot, story, the OCs and things which aren't part of CCS are all mine:D Our first journey ends there. Just wait for the next update, I guess. I hope you found the first chap interesting in a way. More moments in the later chapters! Please don't forget to drop by reviews! Ja ne!


	2. Life's Options

**AUTHOR'S NOTES with darkshadow36:**

I'm back! Now here's the second chapter. Sorry if ever I updated late. Please make sure you're updated, though! This kind of took me long 'coz I had my third tri exams during Tuesday-Thursday (that was March 8-10), and then we had a soiree ('twas Friday, March 11)! It was my last day of school yesterday. And to think that I have attended SULONG (_Students United in Leadership Onwards the Next Generation_) in school for the last three days after my exams.

I wanna go thank first those who reviewed my first chap!—**_ksara_****_, Kawaii Bell, Pinaygrrl, cristal-shian, and LiL.feLLow_**! Thanks for the support!

I suppose that's enough chatter now, eh? NOW READ! Don't forget to review! Hehe… Hope you enjoy!

**(UPDATED: March 19, 2005) Chapter 2: Life's Options**

Perhaps it was one of those worst days for Sakura. She was sitting alone in her big room. It was a Wednesday morning.

Today was her 2nd day from suspension. But she didn't mind that. She was thinking of something else with a grave face…

**_…FLASHBACK…_**

_It was a very sunny Monday morning in Redstone. It had already been two days since the basketball game. _

_Sakura hurried to her classroom. She thought she was the usual early bird. But when she opened the door of Room 3-A, she was shocked to see Tomoyo sitting on her chair. Her angelic smile reached the heavens above._

_"Konnichi-wa, Tomoyo-chan… Why are you here? And… You're so early!" Sakura exclaimed._

_Tomoyo hugged her friend. "I… already answered Eriol! Get what I mean?" She said humbly. Her eyes were sparkling and she was blushing. "I told him my answer yesterday—"_

_She stopped when Sakura's bag fell off from her shoulder. "Really?" She forced herself to smile. "I'm happy for you, Tomoyo-chan." _

_"Happy?" Tomoyo looked at her skeptically. "But… why do you look so sad?"_

_Sakura made herself an excuse. "It's just… my breakfast this morning… It tasted bad!" She smiled forcefully. But Tomoyo didn't mind. "Gee, I'm so happy for you two!" she continued. Tell me more about it!" But actually, she doesn't want to hear more._

_Tomoyo was about to start when Sakura signaled her to stop by holding up a hand. _

_"Wait… I'm just gonna go to the CR and… puke there!" she pretended to look pale. She was very good at this._

_She didn't show up until it was morning break. It came to Ms. Yano's knowledge that Sakura had cut classes in the morning. _

_For the third time this month, she landed again in the high school principal's cabbage-smelling office._

_"So, you skipped classes this morning, Ms. Kinomoto?" Ms. Yano looked at Sakura sympathetically. Of course Ms. Yano also has her soft side in front of students. _

_She understands Sakura because of her past… (More about it in the later chapters)… And Sakura knows that she did understand her situation._

_"Yes, ma'am," Sakura looked down the floor as she sobbed._

_"Do you wish to tell me anything?" Ms. Yano asked the troubled girl in front of her. Sakura shook her head._

_"Just… go ahead and send my guardians the note telling them of my three-day suspension—"_

_"No, Sakura, I really don't want it—"_

_"Do as I say, Yano-sensei," Sakura said sharply. She talked as if she were in level with Ms. Yano, who pursed her lips quietly, thinking._

_"If that's what you want, Sakura," she looked at her sadly._

_Sakura shrugged. "I wouldn't mind, anyway," she said stiffly. "You're the discipline coordinator, and since the principal is away because of her pregnancy… You're in-charge. You must stick to the school rules. It would be a shame for Redstone if people knew that students from this school are not well-guided…"_

_Ms. Yano was silent for a while. "I said all right if that's what you want!" she almost wanted to yell, but she stayed calm as ever. "Yes, I know, Ms. Kinomoto that I must stick to the school rules myself. But to me, you are a different case. Nobody else knows about how your past and present affects you deeply. No one knows anything, not even your best friends as you've told me! Am I right?" They maintained eye-to-eye contact with each other._

_Sakura nodded thoughtlessly. "Yeah… And I don't have the intention to tell them anything… That's why whenever people ask me about my past, I would just stare at them with cold eyes and I would leave their thoughts confused." She somehow wanted to cry, but she still maintained that strong face she always has in front of people. _

_"Uhmm—"_

_"I guess we should leave it here by now, Yano-sensei," Sakura stood up from the chair and started walking towards the door, "Sayonara!" She said without even looking back._

**_…END FLASHBACK…_**

Sakura was glad though that she could tell Ms. Yano anything. She kept her secrets throughout these years she has been in Redstone. She was approachable even though students knew her as a strict and loud woman.

That morning she still wanted to sleep, but hearing her guardians' loud snores filled her with anger.

**_…On the other hand… The Wednesday morning filled the students with hope to make it through this day… through the boring classes… through the day-mares… through love life and hopeless relationships…_**

"So, what do you think, Li?" asked Eriol. "I think I've already found myself a _soul mate_… Sorry anyway 'coz I haven't told you yesterday immediately—"

"Where's Kinomoto-san?" Syaoran butted in immediately. He looked quite stubborn. "I haven't seen her here around for days… Do you know what happened? I tried calling her but no one answers the phone in their house these days." He gave Eriol an angry look.

"Anything the matter, Li?" he asked, quite nervously. _'Why the angry look?'_ he wondered.

Syaoran shook his head and gave a small smile. "Oh, nothing of the sort at all, Hiiragizawa…" his mind seemed to drift off elsewhere.

Eriol tried to stay as calm as always. "So… Uhmm… What do you think of Tomoyo and… me?" He looked away. The latter yawned sleepily.

"I think you two would do well," he said simply. "Just take care of Tomoyo for me, okay? She's been my closest friend and I don't want her hurt in any way possible. Keep that in mind." His eyes sharpened. "Hmm… I guess I'll leave you here by now… I think I'm going to cut one class for today…"

"But why—"

But Syaoran left Eriol concerned and puzzled.

During the lunch break, just like what happened to Sakura last Monday, he also landed in Ms. Yano's office. It was one of his most hated places in the whole world.

"So… another case of cutting classes this week, eh?" Ms. Yano looked at Syaoran who was looking down the floor. But upon hearing what she had just said, his head cocked up and his eyes widened a bit.

"Excuse me, Yano-sensei, but… would you mind me asking… what was the first case?" he asked hastily.

Ms. Yano let out a deep breath. "Last Monday, it was Ms. Kinomoto…"

"What?" This time Syaoran's eyes really widened. "No wonder Kinomoto-san was absent for the past two days…"

"Yes," said Ms. Yano, "and today is her second day from suspension. I actually decided to give her an exception… but she refused… said she really doesn't want to be exempted and that I have to stick to the school rules myself…"

"Will that be my fate, too?" asked Syaoran promptly. "I wouldn't mind, anyway… And it's my first time… _Think about that…_" He whispered the last three words.

"Of course, Mr. Li!" Ms. Yano suddenly looked stern. "But for one day only because you only skipped one class… Ms. Kinomoto actually skipped the whole morning classes…"

Syaoran gulped. "Well… Arigatou gozaimasu, Yano-sensei… I should get going now…"

The next day, Sakura and Syaoran were both not in class. It was Sakura's third day from suspension while it was Syaoran's first and last day from his suspension.

Sakura hadn't been eating properly during those three days.

"Don't you want to eat, Sakura, dear?" asked Yukon, her male guardian. Sakura shook her head roughly.

"I'm going to my room," she said shortly before leaving the two behind.

She cried bitterly as she hugged her pillow once she got into her room. "I want to kill myself… Why am I having such pains like these? Am I… Am I in love with Eriol?" She became confused. "But… I don't even know what true love means!" She gasped. "I don't understand… There are so many things swirling in my head… Ohh!"

DING DONG!

She heard the doorbell, but she didn't mind.

"Maybe it's just the mailman or someone," she continued to cry afterwards. But she was surprised when someone knocked on her door.

"Kinomoto-san, it's me, Li!" She easily recognized Syaoran's voice.

Sakura hurriedly opened the door. "Come in," she said while drying her tears. Syaoran sat on Sakura's computer chair.

"Your adoptive parents let me in without even requiring who I am," he said slowly. He was looking at Sakura's pale face. It sort of bothered him.

"Why are you here?" Sakura snapped. "I'm in my last day of suspension, and—"

"I am suspended today from school," interrupted Syaoran. "Just for one day."

This surprised Sakura. "You—suspended? How come you're suspended whereas you're one of the good guys of Redstone?"

"Well…" Syaoran shrugged, "Starting off with the reason… What made me skip one class yesterday morn was after knowing Hiiragizawa's relationship with Tomoyo-san—"

"That's also the reason why I was suspended for three days…" Sakura looked into Syaoran's eyes. "I cut classes the whole morning last Monday. After knowing it all from Tomoyo herself on that very day… I became jealous… My world _whirled_ inside my confused head…"

"I understand how you feel… 'Coz I also felt the same way…" Syaoran said softly. "I really didn't know what to do then. I don't know what true love really means… 'Coz to me it's only like an ordinary emotion… But this morning, when I woke up to think about it, I thought I fell in love with Tomoyo-san that's why I feel deep pain inside of me…"

Sakura patted her friend on the back. "Yeah… I think I also felt the same way for Eriol-kun… We've been so close since our childhood… But my instincts tell me that he has never fallen for me and never will…" She smiled all the same. "During these three days of suspension, I thought of… letting him go because there's really no chance for us to get together…"

The two both fell silent for a while.

After a few minutes, Syaoran spoke. "What do you say to this—if we try becoming _a couple for 100 days_?"

Sakura gasped. "Huh?" her eyes went round. "What's that for?"

"Trust me, Kinomoto-san… I think it'll work…" Syaoran finally managed to smile. "I thought of it since we both don't know what true love really means… And I suppose 100 days will be enough for us to understand it."

"That's like 3 months or so!" Sakura exclaimed. "So… when will we start?" She grinned.

"Tomorrow shall be the first day…"

"Well, I guess both of us should no longer be sad," Sakura suggested. "Tomorrow's another day…"

Syaoran nodded. "I wonder how things will turn out," he said. "During those 100 days… I think we can make it… But don't be surprised if ever we see our picture at the school paper for the next issue…"

"Yeah," Sakura mumbled, "if only you're not that famous in school!" She elbowed him in the ribs, making him howl in pain.

"That hurts!" laughed Syaoran. They kept on rolling and laughing and teasing and tickling on Sakura's bed until all of a sudden they both fell on the floor face to face.

They both went red.

"Uhmm… I think you should get going…" Sakura looked away from Syaoran. "So… Remember tomorrow, okay? Bye!"

"Sayonara, Kinomoto-san!" smiled Syaoran, turning to go. "See you tomorrow in school…"

**TBC**

**AUTHOR'S NOTES with darkshadow36:**

That's the end of the second chapter. I know it was sort of crappy and confusing, and please do forgive me about that! The real thing begins in the next chapwatch out for it. So, _what do you think will happen during those 100 days? Will their plan be successful?_ I hope you'll still support me 'til the end, guys! Please don't forget to drop by a review. You people rock!


	3. First Things First

**AUTHOR'S NOTES with darkshadow36:**

YAY! At last, here's the third chap. Anyways, I'm not really surprised that only a few reviewed, and it's because I'm just a starter for SyaoSaku fanfic. But that won't stop me from updating, right? And as always, I would like to thank my _reviewees_, or _reviewers_—old ones or new ones; whatever you may call it! XD

**_REVIEWEES:_**

**cristal-shian: **I surely agree with what you said! I'll try adding a bit of humor… Hehe! But maybe more of that in the later chaps since this chapter is kind of a _tension moment_! Thanks, by the way.  
**Pinaygrrl:** Gee, thanks! I was encouraged by that.  
**Shimela: **Yup, this is a SyaoSaku fic, and it's definitely my first time to write a fic about them! I hope this one works! To tell you the truth, I felt like I should no longer continue this fic, but when I saw that readers would really like it if I continue, I decided that I better begin cooking the whole thing up! XD  
**Ice Queen 2: **Hey there! I'm glad you liked it. And so here's Chapter 3!  
**Sakura-Angel-Blossom: **Hi! I can't believe you still found time to read this third fanfic of mine… Don't worry; I'll try to find time to read yours! I am busy now that it's our vacation. I understood what your situation was then, 'coz computer glitches are really annoying!  
**neopyrocitrine: **Monica? Is that really you? Hehe… I'm surprised! Thanks. _Tsaka__ sana__ magsimula ka nang magsulat ng bagong kwento para may bago akong mabasa!_ Hehe.  
**mauinetani**: _Binubulgar__ mo naman ako e!_ Hehehe… Thanks all the same… I deeply appreciated your comments and stuff! _Nabasa__ mo lang kasi yung toot_!

**BACK TO darkshadow36:** Hehe… Now let's begin! I can't wait to see what happens during the first days of Syaoran's and Sakura's plan to become a couple… Let's see if you'll find it _amusing_ or _menacing_! –_I bet menacing_! Haha!

**_: MAIN CHARACTERS:_**

**Li Syaoran** – 16-year old; the school's popular guy heartthrob and Tomoyo's closest friend  
**Sakura Kinomoto** – 15; just your average girl and always engages in fights; closest friend is Eriol  
**Tomoyo Daidouji** – 15; Eriol's talented girlfriend  
**Eriol Hiiragizawa** – a 17-year old 3-point shooter in basketball; another school heartthrob

**_: SUMMARY FOR CHAPTER 3:_** 3rd chapter tells you of what happened on Syaoran and Sakura's first day as a couple, which became one of the biggest issues on Redstone that fateful day.

**(UPDATED: ****April 3, 2005****) Chapter 3: First Things First**

Sakura woke up. Going to her personal bathroom, she rubbed her eyes and looked at herself in front of the mirror. She kept blinking.

"C'mon, you _monster_… better keep your eyes open…" she somehow wanted to stop blinking, but she can't help it. She slept late last night.

Then Sakura washed her face with some water to completely wake her up. "What a bizarre dream," she yawned. "Syaoran is to be my boyfriend for 3 months? _Gosh…_" She laughed, but when her eyes stopped blinking, she looked at herself again in the mirror.

She blinked twice. "Blimey! It isn't a dream!" She accidentally fell onto the shiny floor, and then gathered herself up again. _'Darn it… My ass hurts…'_ she thought.

"Stop being clumsy," she told herself, grinning. "Today's the first day… I wonder what will happen."

On the other hand, Syaoran woke up very early in the morning. He had already finished taking a bath, and is now dressing up into his favorite green t-shirt with his name on it, with matching elephant pants.

"Lookin' good!" he did a posing in front of the mirror. "I'm ready to take on today! Whoa… I forgot… Today is basketball practice…" He groaned. "Redstone, can't you give me a break? I was suspended yesterday and—"

He suddenly remembered—

"_Sakura!_ Today's our first day as a couple!" a smile played on his lips. "Will Hiiragizawa be surprised if he discovered? Well, he'll find out sooner or later anyway… _I couldn't have hoped for a better day…_"

**_Day 1_**

"Maybe Sakura doesn't like the idea of being us at all," Tomoyo told Eriol sadly. They were sitting on the bench near the school entrance gates. "She skipped the whole morning classes last Monday."

"Even Syaoran acted the same way as Sakura did," said Eriol. "But he only cut one subject in the morning last Wednesday. He started acting stubborn when I told him about us—" He stared.

"What is it?" Tomoyo asked him softly. When Eriol pointed, Tomoyo was _dumbfounded_. _Flabbergasted_. No words can say what they had just seen.

Syaoran was holding Sakura's hand. They were both talking animatedly to each other as they both entered the school gates.

"They're an immediate issue to the students…" Tomoyo and Eriol looked at the students who were following the new couple with giggled whispers.

"Syaoran-kun was suspended yesterday, right?" Tomoyo asked Eriol who continued to stare at the students. Eriol nodded thoughtlessly.

"Hi!" a young sophomore lad waved at Eriol. "You're the famous Mr. Hiiragizawa, right? And this is the lovely choir member Ms. Daidouji." He beamed. Tomoyo smiled back at him. Eriol jumped on his seat upon hearing the boy's gestures. "My name's Keiichi Shinto, by the way. I'm the photographer for the school paper GIANT STONE. My companion here is Hikari Fujiyoka, a freshie. She's the entertainment news writer."

The freshman smiled at the two. "We're just wondering if… When will you both have the free time to be interviewed… by us," she gulped nervously. "But if…" she looked down.

"Maybe later lunch would do," Tomoyo spoke up. Trouble was brewing as she looked at Eriol since he was so quiet. "We're really sorry for the inconvenience…" She smiled sympathetically at them. The two just shrugged.

"Arigatou gozaimasu, Ms. Daidouji," they said in unison and then they stalked off. When they had gone, Tomoyo let out a deep breath.

"What's the matter?" she comforted Eriol who glided a hand through his messy blue hair.

"I'll be talking to Sakura at class later… You do the same with Li, okay?" he said calmly. He tried not to be angry. _'Everything's going to be just fine… I hope…'_ he whispered to himself.

Meanwhile, Syaoran and Sakura were sitting on the bleachers at the covered stage, waiting for the school bell to ring.

"Did you saw their expressions?" Syaoran grinned at Sakura. "I told you, this is—"

"_Going to work_?" Sakura finished for him. Her smile faded all of a sudden. "Look, are we going to do this just to make them jealous and—"

"Of course not," he interrupted. "This is just the beginning, ok? The _hot_ things will begin soon…"

Sakura finally managed to wear a smile. "But… What do you mean by _'hot'_, Li-kun?"

Syaoran laughed. "Kinomoto-san, relax. Don't take that word seriously… What I meant is the _real_ thing."

Sakura sighed, and then asked him, "What if Eriol asks me a question about us? Will I tell him the truth?"

"Hai," Syaoran replied. "It wouldn't hurt anyway, I guess."

"And…" Sakura put her forefinger on her chin. "I think we shouldn't be too hard on Eriol-kun and Tomoyo-chan… just take it easy as we explain things to them. Let's look on the bright side of life, perhaps… Since the four of us are still friends, and I don't feel like engaging to a fight with them today."

"That's the first time I ever heard you say such thing, Kinomoto," Syaoran sniggered.

At that exact moment, Keiichi Shinto came along with his faithful camera and co-staffer in the school paper, the freshman Hikari Fujiyoka.

"Not the school paper…" Sakura groaned. "Li-kun, I'll _break up with you_ this very moment if they're going to ask us for a stupid interview!"

"Not that fast, Kinomoto," whispered Syaoran. "And… You said _'break up'_?" he sneered. "We're not yet an official couple. And a couple couldn't easily break up just like that in one day." He leaned closer to Sakura's face. The emerald eyed beauty blushed.

"Don't make me lose _my virginity as a tomboy_, you schmuck," Sakura retorted, smacking Syaoran's head. _'How could you be so sarcastic? I never knew that during those times when we were still the best of friends…'_ she thought.

"Here are _the_ _paparazzi_," Syaoran said heavily. "At least they're only two… A geeky photographer from the sophomores and a bouncing bunny from the freshmen…"

"Ohayo gozaimasu, Mr. Li and Ms. Kinomoto," greeted Hikari Fujiyoka. Keiichi bowed. Syaoran and Sakura felt uneasy at the gesture, but they're still fine all the same. "If you wouldn't mind, could we please…? Uhmm…"

"An interview—it's okay," Syaoran said hastily. "If it's going to be a fast interview, that is… Or maybe lunchtime would do if it's going to take long?"

"Gomen nasai, Mr. Li," Keiichi said uneasily but sympathetically, "but Mr. Hiiragizawa and Ms. Daidouji have already booked for lunchtime…"

"What in the world—" Syaoran cut his sentence short. _He didn't want to be a bad example for these two since he was about to mutter curses._ "You mean you're going to interview them too? Why? What for?" he asked.

"The school happened to know they're an official couple already," explained Hikari. Syaoran and Sakura looked a bit hurt at the thought. "And the whole school wants to know everything. And suppose—you, too, are already an official couple? We asked some students a while ago if they knew anything about you two—"

"Don't worry, Mr. Li," Keiichi butted in immediately in case tension arises, "We're going to respect your privacy if you don't want us butting in your business, sir."

"_Why are people so fussy about Hiiragizawa and me?_" Syaoran yawned. "Can't they let us have some quiet life for sometime? And maybe we can postpone the interview this morning—make it tomorrow. _Yes, I know that's Saturday._ I have another basketball practice tomorrow, that's why. And I know that the school paper staff gets to stay in school during Saturdays."

"And, don't tell Eriol and Tomoyo about this, okay?" Sakura engaged Hikari into a conversation. "Just _a secret between the four of us_—tell us what happens in your interview with them tomorrow, if that would be alright. Got it? By the way, I'm going tomorrow, too, to see the practice." She grinned.

"Yup," smiled Hikari. "Arigatou gozaimasu, Ms. Kinomoto, Mr. Li," she and Keiichi went away without another word, but they just sighed with defeat.

"Get ready for tomorrow, Kinomoto-san," Syaoran held Sakura's shoulders and looked straight into her emerald orbs. He looked serious. "Each of the GIANT STONE staff, each of them, asks with _a sharp tongue_. They listen with _bunny ears_. They take down notes as if _they're just writing rubbish_. They look at you with _hawk-like eyes_…"

"STOP IT!" Sakura's eyes bulged by the way Syaoran acted. "_Hearing it already—_"

They heard the flash of a camera.

"_Makes me sick_," Sakura bowed down her head, eyes still wide. Syaoran then let go of her shoulders.

"Sorry," Syaoran went pink. "I shouldn't have done that…" They looked away from each other. They heard another flash of a camera. Sakura got irritated. She looked to the direction where the flash came from. So she got down from the bleachers and approached the frightened senior. Syaoran tried stopping her.

"Kinomoto-san, don't you dare do it right now!" Syaoran hissed. But Sakura felt so annoyed she can't control herself. Thank goodness people weren't looking at them.

"Who the hell are you to take pictures of us?" Sakura demanded, putting a sharp finger on the girl's head. "And who're you, anyway? I know you're from the seniors." The girl, Tamara Shinto, shivered. Sakura was a bit taller than she was. "I don't care if you're older than I do. When it comes to fighting—"

She was about to box her with a strong and ready fist when someone yelled.

"Stop it, in _the name of love!_" It was another senior. Sakura halted. She can't believe what she had just heard. "That's… my girlfriend… She wasn't actually taking pictures of you—"

"I don't accept whimsy excuses, sir, sorry," Sakura put down her fist. "My adoptive mother is a lawyer and she's got a knack for smelling lies. Same goes here." She said sharply.

Syaoran gulped, and so did the two seniors.

Sakura continued, "I know she was taking pictures of Li-kun and me. Two flashes proved it. But I'm going to cancel my score..." She sighed, "If she's going to tell me why she had been taking pictures of the two of us. That's as simple as breaking a twig in two."

"Well…" Tamara played with her fingers, touching her camera. "It's because… These pictures are for the school paper…"

"You're not a member of the school paper," Sakura said shrewdly. She looked at Tamara head to toe and figured out that she has a similarity to the appearance of Keiichi Shinto, the GIANT STONE photographer. "But I know that that Keiichi Shinto lad is your younger brother, ne? Your name's _Tamara Yanero Shinto_ and your mother is English, while your father is Japanese."

The lass nodded, a bit bothered by the fact that Sakura actually knows a bit of her family background. "He asked me to take pictures of you since he'll be taking pictures of Hiiragizawa and Daidouji… I'm terribly sorry for what I did, Kinomoto." She bowed down her head.

Sakura considered. "All right, I forgive you, miss. But if you're going to do that next time, ask permission first. But I couldn't blame you… The school paper staff is nosy and they've to do their tasks."

Tamara wore a small smile. "Aren't you… Aren't you going to _crash the camera or something_?" the senior lass offered her camera. Sakura shook her head.

"No, of course not," she smiled. "I'm not that brutal, and I think I've caused much trouble today, and I don't feel like landing in Yano's office in such a lovely morning. It will be my fourth time this month in that cabbage-smelling office…" She laughed. The two seniors joined in, and even Syaoran, who was nervous a while ago, managed to laugh.

"Sorry again, and… thanks very much," smiled Tamara. "You're one cool chip, Kinomoto."

The lad smiled too. "I guess we better get going, the rooster bell will be ringing any minute now. Oh, and… Would you mind it if I tell you… Well, _good luck in your relationship_!" She and the senior lad stalked off.

Sakura's mouth hanged open.

"Sure…" Syaoran yelled after. "Thanks!" Then he turned back to Sakura.

"What a morning it has been!" he told her. "This was the first time I see you not engage in one of those big fights…" He grinned. "Maybe it's because of me! You were inspired to be your best—"

"Shut up, you klutz," Sakura hit Syaoran's head playfully.

"That hurts!" Syaoran moaned. "And stop calling me names and stuff like that… You know… _Klutz_, a _schmuck_, a _glitch_, and then even _skunk_! And—"

"Well then, better not mess with me!" Sakura pouted cutely.

_RRRRRRRRIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG!_

"See you recess time," Syaoran winked. "Take care, okay? I'll wait for you outside your classroom. If I'll be the one who'll take long inside our room, please do the same for me."

"Yeah… you too, take care of yourself," Sakura seemed very happy for the first time this week. _"Participate in class well!"_ She whispered. Unfortunately, Syaoran heard.

"I heard that!" he laughed.

It is presently Trigonometry class in Room 3-A. Usually, Sakura is bored during this class. Whenever there's a seatwork, she pretends to dawdle over her work so she wouldn't be called for recitations. But this morning, her world turned upside down.

"_Okay, who wants to solve this problem? Don't tell me it's Mr. Hiiragizawa again? Anyone else other than him—Ms. Kinomoto!"_ Ms. Hitsu was surprised. Sakura raised her hand, volunteering. The sleeping class jolted back to their senses and smiled knowingly. "All right, dear, come here in front and answer it if you've understood the lesson very well…"

Sakura even explained her answer with confidence with an eloquent and clear voice. Eriol observed her actions and expressions carefully.

_'She's a completely changed person today,' _he thought, amused and surprised at the same time. _'I think Li has something to do with this…'_ he sighed. _'I'll try talking to Sakura…'_

When Sakura got back to her seat, Ms. Hitsu gave them a seatwork to work on while she's out for a few minutes. Sakura felt refreshed while answering the seatwork with enthusiasm and ease. She and Eriol even finished at the same time. Sakura, who was sitting near the window, just gazed outside and looked at the children playing for their Physical Education subject.

Just then, she felt someone tugged her sleeve. She turned around.

"Sakura-chan, can we talk?" Eriol whispered, as not to disturb their other classmates. This didn't surprise Sakura, for she was expecting.

"Eriol-kun," she pursed her lips for a moment and smiled beamingly. "What is it?"

"You've changed," Eriol looked at her with those mesmerizing eyes she _fell in love with_. He tried to keep on softening his voice as much as possible. He thought Sakura was mad at him. "Does Li have something to do with this? Tomoyo and I noticed a while ago…"

But she didn't fell for it this time. "That was straightforward," she said, coolly. "But I think a simple talk would do nicely. And please go straight to the point. So, _what is it_?" She asked for the second time.

Eriol didn't want to be straightforward this time as Sakura had complimented, but since she mentioned that he better go straight to the point, he did. "Sakura-chan, _is Li now your boyfriend? _And aren't you angry at me or something?"

Sakura then remembered what Syaoran had told her a while ago about this thing.

"To tell you the truth," she paused for a while. "Uhmm… We had a… Oh, would it be alright if I _pass you a note_ instead? Others might hear it… No matter how much I try my best in keeping my voice down… It's a really private matter, for my part." So she tore a paper from her notebook in Trigonometry and scribbled.

Eriol waited for at least 3 minutes. When Sakura gave him the note, Ms. Hitsu came back. While Ms. Hitsu kept on discussing about their seatwork, Eriol was reading the note Sakura handed him. On the other hand, Sakura was volunteering to answer the questions on the seatwork.

_"As I was saying… Isn't it that it was Li's first and last day of suspension yesterday? And it was also my last day of suspension yesterday too since I was suspended for 3 days straight. Wait, I'm nearing the point!_

_"Syaoran paid a visit to my house yesterday and explained to me why he got suspended. And we both soon realized that we're both confused about what love really means. Come to think of it—I obviously don't know what true love really means because hatred is what covers my heart. It's just hatred and nothing but hatred. I even laughed my head off when Syaoran told me that he doesn't know about such thing as true love (between a couple and stuff like that). I mean a heartthrob like him?"_

It seemed to Eriol that Sakura kept on emphasizing about the word '_hatred_' since she even underlined the three mentioned. He continued reading.

_"And so we decided to… become a couple for a 100-day deal. We believe that in that way, we'll understand what true love means. I know that sounds absurd, confusing, and stupid, but we guess it's the only way. And that's it."_

_"By the way, don't worry—Li and I aren't angry with you… Just a simple 'heartbreak'! We decided not to get angry with you even though I was, at first."_

Thinking of what to reply, Eriol fumbled for his small notebook and tore a page. He got his pen ready, still thinking.

_That was absurd._

And so he started writing, at the same time kept on looking at and pretending to listen to Ms. Hitsu in case she gets suspicious.

He passed the note to Sakura, who was listening to every word Ms. Hitsu says.

Sakura read with a playful smile on her lips:

_"To tell you the truth, I think that was kind of weird. But what motivated you both to decide on such thing? Being a pretend couple might complicate things… I don't mean to offend you, really. And what was the reason why you and Li both got suspended? Does my relationship with Tomoyo have anything to do with this? Please tell me the truth. It seemed to me that you and Li are avoiding us."_

Sakura shot another attentive glance at Ms. Hitsu, and then started scribbling something beneath Eriol's reply. Eriol tapped his fingers on his table, waiting for her reply.

_"Why don't join Li-kun and I for recess? We're going to tell you everything at the fields. There's a long explanation to go."_ Eriol looked at Sakura, who was looking at him with bright eyes. He nodded.

"Goodbye, class, I'll see you next Monday," Ms. Hitsu faced the whole class, whose eyes were all squinting back at her. "And don't forget—we have a quiz! So study well!"

The class groaned as Ms. Hitsu walked out of the classroom for her next class.

"Not again!"

"Trigo quizzes suck, man!"

"This subject is not Trigonometry, it's _Trigo-no-peace_! Got it?"

Meanwhile, class in 3-B was too quiet that morning.

_And why is that_?

_"Didn't you know that that was an insult? I'm so ashamed of you all! Do you want me to give you a grade of 65 in your conduct grades? Or perhaps an E would do you good?"_

Yup, people… _Sermons_. Nothing can beat sermons especially when it's first thing in the morning.

Tomoyo kept looking at Syaoran who was sitting beside her. He was thinking and smiling to himself.

"Syaoran-kun?" she hissed. "Can we talk… _About you and Sakura-chan?_" Good thing the sermons were loud or else her voice could've been heard.

Syaoran sniggered to himself. He quickly passed a note to Tomoyo, who read it with a puzzled look on her face.

_"Join Kinomoto and me for recess, ne?"_

Tomoyo looked again at Syaoran. His eyes were fixed on their adviser.

_"As if he ever listened to that old fraud standing in front of us…"_ she chuckled to herself.

When the bell rang for morning break, Sakura rushed to Syaoran's classroom when—

"OMP!" Sakura almost yelled. She looked up to see who she's bumped into.

_"Li?"_

_"Kinomoto?"_

"Hey! I was about to visit your room when you entered _the scene_!"

"Same goes here!"

"GRR!" They looked sharply at each other.

"Hey… I thought you're _a couple_?" Eriol sneered, showing the smile of a Cheshire cat. "And, _no couple argues immediately_ on their _first day_." He winked.

"C'mon, let's go down now," Tomoyo pulled Sakura while Eriol pulled Syaoran.

No sooner had they all sat down on the soft grass of the fields. The fresh wind blew on their faces. Even the sun seems to agree with this _get-together_ sort as it gives off its warm rays.

Nobody spoke.

"I think Syaoran should start," Eriol spoke up.

Syaoran looked slightly perturbed. "Why me?" he whined.

"It's because you're the one who put this up," Sakura said, crossing her arms.

"Well—"

"No buts or excuses," Tomoyo whacked Syaoran's back. "Explain."

Syaoran let out a heavy sigh. He can feel the three looking at him intently.

"I guess it's up to me now, then… as of the time being…"

He hesitated at first, but as soon as he started, he was spontaneous. He began with the reason why he and Sakura got suspended. Sakura, forgetting her argument with him a while ago, supported his story with enthusiasm. They ended the story with their 100-day deal plan.

And after that, they found their selves chortling.

"That was hilarious!" Eriol clutched his stomach.

Sakura looked at Eriol and Tomoyo tentatively. "You're not even angry about what happened? I mean—"

"Why should we be?" Tomoyo was also clutching her stomach. "We understood how you felt about us anyway… But you should've told us rather than you go sulking around like that!" she smiled. "And we're still friends right?" Then she and Sakura did a high five.

"I agree with her," Eriol smiled, sighing.

Sakura smiled. She can't believe how lucky she was to have friends like them. For a fleeting second, she had this mad urge to tell them about her past, but she thought that she doesn't want to do and take things in a rush.

"I better enjoy myself first by now," she muttered thoughtlessly. She had no idea that the other three had been watching her all this time.

"Eh?" she jumped. Tomoyo laughed, yet again.

"What do you mean by that?" she sneered. "Of course you do have to enjoy yourself… Now that Syaoran-kun is by your side! And I think you'd both make a great couple in the end! I bet that you'll fall in love with each other in no more than a week…"

Syaoran and Sakura shot weird looks at each other.

"I can never fall for a heartthrob but a jerk like him," Sakura yawned, looking away.

Syaoran raised an eyebrow and looked away too. "Well, lesbians aren't my type anyway, but I guess I'll have to put up with you for four months time, probably. And being with you—ow, c'mon, you're my best friend! It takes ages to fall for your girlfriend or boyfriend _(female and male friends)_… And I guess I won't have any problems to worry about with you."

_But do they know what they had just said?_

Probably… _not_.

**TBC**

**AUTHOR'S NOTES with darkshadow36:**

I know the first day only covered the whole morning session. Well of course the continuation will be posted on the next chap, so keep your selves updated! I was actually supposed to have at least three updates every month, but once our next school year sets in, I'll be busy with schoolwork, so don't be surprised if this fic will be finished when it's already year 2008, I don't know.

Anyway, I've just finished reading Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Actually, I've already read that many times a few years back… But I'm just rereading the 4th and 5th Harry Potter books because I'm preparing myself for the 6th upcoming Harry Potter book entitled Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince. It is to be released in July 16, 2005, and I can't wait to read it!

And don't forget to drop by reviews. I will gladly appreciate constructive criticisms too if you've got any, as long as you don't mind the smallest details that much… If you know what I mean! I'm not trying to sound boastful or something, okay? AND, if you want me to send you updates about this fic, just mention your e-mail ad in your review, or if you're an writer, you can put me in your author alert watch list. But if you don't want, it's okay, just keep you selves updated!

Thanks again and may you all be inspired to do your best in all the things you do, 'coz you can never turn back time. It's hard to regret your mistakes in the past... just a small piece of a helpful advice from me.


	4. Fight and Right

**TITLE: "A Little Thing Called 'Love'"  
GENRE: Romance/Angst  
RATING: T  
SUMMARY: Syaoran and Sakura—best friends who never knew what true love meant. Due to certain heartbreaks and curiosity, they agreed to be a couple for 100 days. What do you think will happen?**

**AUTHOR'S NOTES with darkshadow36:**

All right! I'm back. Yes, I'm thrilled to say that I'm back! Hehe… Jokingly speaking! Anyways, as I always do, I thank my reviewers… _reviewees_… Use your terms…

**_REVIEWEES:_**

**Imaginated:** Thanks very much! And being the first to review, too!  
**LiL.feLLow: **Gee, you're back? Oh I'm just joking, my dearest ickle friend… Glad you reviewed!  
**Pinaygrrl:** Yeah, I thought of making the chapter's a bit longer, but I hope you won't become that bored though! Hehe!  
**mauinetani:**_ May kailangan pa ba akong sabihin sa iyo? Biro lang!_ Hehe… Just keep in touch, k?  
**cristal-shian:** Yeah, I'm kind of thinking about that idea! Thanks for the suggestion. It might help on adding a bit more flavor to the story, since I'm typing this fic directly to the PC. I mean, no need for papers and writing and stuff…  
**a.s.u.n:** Hi there! Yup, Ram talks of you much on the phone… Don't be offended about that! We just find you… well, there's no other suitable word for it—interesting. And… all right, that's why here's the update—I just don't want to leave you in suspense! Thanks anyway!  
**Kawaii Bell: **Thanks very much for the review! I'm glad you found it nice, and I'm still trying to improve the lines and the whole story, too.  
**neopyrocitrine: **_Naka naman… May fic na ang isa ko pang besty… Ayan ha… nagreview na ako para wala ka nang aalahanin! _I feel so crazy, man…

**BACK TO darkshadow36:** Hehe… Now let's see the journey…

**_: MAIN CHARACTERS:_**

**Li Syaoran** – 16-year old; the school's popular guy heartthrob and Tomoyo's closest friend  
**Sakura Kinomoto** – 15; just your average girl and always engages in fights; closest friend is Eriol  
**Tomoyo Daidouji** – 15; Eriol's talented girlfriend  
**Eriol Hiiragizawa** – a 17-year old 3-point shooter in basketball; another school heartthrob

**_: SUMMARY FOR CHAPTER 4:_** We're still on the first day, unfortunately. Sakura and Tomoyo have been threatened by two boys, and it's only the beginning. Another, someone wants Sakura _dead_. What are they after and who are they? And as Sakura's past slowly uncovers, you wouldn't want to miss the chance to read her life story which is a big part to this story… Remember this is only fanfiction, no bashing.

**(UPDATED: ****April 15, 2005****) Chapter 4: Fight and Right**

**-0-**

**_…that same day… still on Day 1…_**

"Hey," Syaoran caught sight of Keiichi Shinto and Hikari Fujiyoka walking together a few distances across them. "It's Shinto and Fujiyoka. Are you still--?" He cut his sentence short as he looked questioningly at Eriol, whose sapphire-blue eyes blinked.

"You mean the interview?" he said, facing Syaoran. Then he paused. "Wait—how come you know about the interview? I mean—"

"Yeah," Tomoyo joined in. "The interview's set for this lunch; _I suppose you already knew about that. _Well…_ We couldn't say no_," she added hastily. "So, how did you know?" she looked anxious.

"We heard it from them," Sakura said snappishly. "They were supposed to interview us too just this morn. But Syaoran suggested that they'll have to do the interview tomorrow since it'll be Redstone basketball practice." And then she said tersely, "I told them I'll be coming to see it." She didn't want to add the deal they had, and so she kept that quiet.

While Syaoran was listening to her, he had, yet again, an idea.

"Guys," he cleared his throat loudly as to catch the attention of the three. "What do you say to this—why don't we all have the interview tomorrow altogether?"

Sakura agreed. "Good thinking, squirt!" she pinched his cheeks. Syaoran gaped at her as though she was a maniac.

Eriol and Tomoyo laughed heartily.

"This will lead to something serious, I daresay," he whispered to Tomoyo who nodded jovially.

When it was their lunch break, Eriol and Tomoyo didn't turn up for the interview which was supposed to be done in the cafeteria. Keiichi and Hikari were waiting for them since 5 minutes past 12.

Another 5 minutes passed again. Hikari started to worry.

"Do you think they could have forgotten?" she said exasperatedly.

"Nah," Keiichi looked over to the bunch of people, mostly young couplings holding hands, coming down from the stairs leading to the cafeteria. He was hoping to get a glimpse of the two in case they're one of those people, but still there's no sign of a blue-haired heartthrob and a purple-haired beauty.

"All right," he finally stood up and glanced furtively at Hikari. "I've been expecting this would happen. We're going straight to _Plan B_."

Hikari raised her eyebrows. "What's it, then?"

Keiichi chewed his bottom lip. "I guess we'll have to interview them tomorrow. Hiiragizawa is a Redstone basketball team member anyway; I'm sure he'll turn up for tomorrow's practice. And I assume Daidouji will be there too to watch the practice and give her boyfriend moral support, just like Kinomoto." He grinned.

"We're not yet even sure if Ms. Kinomoto and Mr. Li are already an official Redstone coupling," Hikari said crisply, but she too was grinning. Then she looked anxious again. "But how about the deal we made with Ms. Kinomoto?" she asked.

Keiichi smiled. "I have this nagging feeling that there's no need for that." He said simply, but the freshman looked at him skeptically.

"Okay, okay…" he groaned, "if you're a school paper member, you should have other options other than the strategy you have. One isn't enough. _Plan B stuff is made in case first attempts are unsuccessful _or if you doubt there's a need for a second plan. Got it?" he said sharply.

"What are we to do now, then?"

The sophomore lad thought for a while.

"Man, let's eat! I've just heard that _dumplings_ are on the menu today! Mmm!"

**-0-**

**_…dismissal time at the boys' locker room…_**

"That was one tiring practice," Syaoran wiped his sweaty face with his green towel. "And to think that there's another practice tomorrow."

"Yeah," Eriol drank a gulp from his bottle of water. He was extremely exhausted. "But look on the bright side—we're excused from three afternoon subjects." And then he suddenly laughed.

"What now, Hiiragizawa?" Syaoran cocked his head to one side.

"Nothing…" he continued laughing.

"Tell me!" Syaoran stood up.

Eriol realized he can't get away from Syaoran. But he still kept himself quiet. He finally stopped grinning.

"Hiiragizawa, don't let me kick your ass," Syaoran breathed. The latter didn't look at him.

"I just remembered what you did to Yamazaki a while ago during the practice," he said. "We were laughing back at the bench!"

Syaoran snorted. "You never missed the chance to laugh at me anyway," his voice was filled with sarcasm, but he still looked pleased all the same. "C'mon, let's just go," he turned to go while carrying his sports bag to his shoulder.

"Wait for me!" Eriol managed to catch up with him.

Both of them walked silently as they made their way through the large crowd of students in the waiting area.

"What's up this time?" Syaoran mumbled, suddenly remembering that fateful morning when Sakura and Yumina fought their heads off. Eriol, who, too, was confused, wasted no time for what Syaoran was thinking came to his mind. He immediately asked the student near him.

"What in the bloody world is happening here?" he asked the boy, who looked like a 6th grader from the elementary.

"Aren't you one of the heartthrobs—Eriol Hiiragizawa, the boyfriend of Daidouji Tomoyo?" he asked, excitement bottling in his insides.

Eriol looked at him, still confused.

"Tomoyo?" he asked feebly. "How come she's dragged in--?"

"You should be proud!" the boy smiled gleefully. "She's a singing sensation, _man_! Each of us from this crowd loves her, _man_! You're lucky to have her, _man_!"

Syaoran heard this and he looked at the boy. "Go straight to the point, or I'll kick you as far as I can from here!"

The boy gulped. "Don't you get it?" he said nervously. "Daidouji is singing in front and is standing in front of us—"

"How did that happen?" Without waiting for an answer, Eriol pulled Syaoran's shirt and made a mad dash to the front.

They both stopped dead in their tracks.

Tomoyo was standing on the bench, attracting attention. Even the guard was watching her in awe. She was closing her eyes and was shivering slightly. Her voice was quite quivering. But people didn't care a bit about this; they were enjoying this bit of school entertainment.

"Tomoyo! Get down here this second!" Eriol yelled, but over the tumultuous applause and cheering of the crowd—he doesn't stand a chance._ 'Tomoyo! C'mon!'_ he thought desperately.

He started approaching Tomoyo when a big blonde-haired boy blocked his way.

"No way are you going to stop her," he spoke gruffly. Eriol looked aghast.

"But, look here! That's my—"

"_Girlfriend_?" a thin guy piped in. He walked over to Eriol. He was taller than Eriol was, but Eriol didn't find this fact intimidating.

Eriol clenched his fists. "Let her get down this second! I'm warning you!" He looked up, watching in awe and anger as Tomoyo sang the chorus of _Fall to Pieces by Avril Lavigne_.

"Is that so?" continued the thin guy. "Well, I wouldn't mind getting knocked down by you, 'coz we are two, as of now that is. And if we ever fight, it'll be two against one. A heartthrob like you is no match against two strong ones." He said confidently.

"You're wrong there, Mason," Syaoran spoke up. The crowd turned to listen to their bickering, and Tomoyo stopped speaking, unable to speak. "I'm with him. That makes it equal. That's two heartthrobs against two defenseless boneheads."

The fat guy named Gregory Hamlin looked at him unblinkingly. "You call us defenseless, Li?" his voice quivered in pure anger and loathing. "Why, you and Hiiragizawa are just heartthrobs. You don't have—"

"Is that so?" Syaoran said sneeringly, imitating what Henry Mason said a while ago. "Well, for your information, you big galoot, we can use our fame to advantage." To add up the heat, he said hastily, "one big advantage, if you know what I mean." The crowd cheered.

"What do you mean?" Henry looked at him without the slightest trace of fear about this. Eriol and Syaoran didn't answer.

"Tomoyo, get down…" Eriol said gently, offering a hand for support as Tomoyo got down. They hugged each other.

"Eriol, I'm—" she started in a muffled cry, but Eriol put a finger on her lips, ushering her to keep quiet.

"Don't worry… I'm here…" The crowd _oohed_and_ aahed_ at them, which made them both blush.

"Uhmm… people, you may go now…" Syaoran urged the crowd to go. Even Mason and Hamlin slouched away grinning about something. This left Syaoran a doubting sensation.

"Hey, Tomoyo-chan," Syaoran bit his lip. Tomoyo faced him, her face shining with tears under the afternoon sun. "Have you seen Kinomoto-san?"

Tomoyo suddenly gasped. "I'm… afraid I can't tell you…"

"Tell me! C'mon, we're friends! We're supposed to tell—"

But before they knew it, they heard a yell from the fields.

_"Let go of me, you twerp!"_

"That sounds like… Kinomoto! C'mon, guys—"

The three of them ran to the fields, which was adjacent to the waiting area. Another large crowd had gathered there.

"First you and now it's Sakura," mumbled Syaoran, looking at Tomoyo, who looked quite apprehensive. The three of them stopped running when they had reached the crowd.

"Before we squeeze in ourselves through this second mad crowd," said Eriol, "we would first like to know how these crowd-attracting incidents happened." He and Syaoran were looking at Tomoyo, whose face sunken a bit.

"Well," she started, "as you know, Syaoran-kun, last period of the day is our English class… and Mrs. Hart dismisses us five minutes before the time. And Mason is our classmate. I think he found out that it's already… us," she looked quickly at Eriol, and then went back to her explaining. "Expectedly, he was upset—"

"But why?" asked Eriol.

"Before you courted me, _he_ had been courting me," she said airily. "But I turned him down—"

"_Serves him right anyway._ Right, get back to the explanation, I want to save Kinomoto-san from there," Syaoran interrupted.

Tomoyo sighed. So she said as quickly as she can, "Oh, yes, right… During those five minutes, Mason approached me and told me that he would like to see me here in the waiting area. And so I said yes immediately, believing he's no longer upset about _my_ new relationship, since he was smiling as sincerely as he can.

"When we were instructed to go, I went straight to Sakura's room and found out that she has already gone downstairs ahead of me. I thought that she would try surprising you two since it was your practice, as she always does whenever you have school practices in afternoons during weekdays. And so I considered and I, too, went downstairs immediately."

"Make it quick—the students are clapping hard—" Syaoran gulped, looking over at the crowd. They could hear their jeering too.

"_Oh, Syaoran-kun, be patient,_" snapped Tomoyo. "When I arrived in the waiting area, a crowd had gathered, as what you have seen a while ago." Her voice quickened with every word. "Before I can even turn back since I hate crowds, a senior saw me and immediately pulled my hand. She brought me to the front and there I saw those two slugs. They told me to sing. I can't say no because they said that… that they have tied Sakura… to _a tree _here in the fields…! That was it!"

"All right, I can't take this any longer…" Syaoran said. The three of them squeezed in their selves through the crowd, and soon made their way to the front.

The scene before them was, indeed, there's no other word for it—_gruesome_. Sakura was struggling there, against the cherry blossom tree. She was splattered all over with mud, and it seemed like she was drenched first before getting herself splattered with mud since she looked terribly wet.

"Sakura!" yelled the three.

"_Li-kun!__ Tomoyo-chan! Eriol-kun…_" Sakura said defiantly. There was no trace of fear in her voice. "Just… _go_! Don't go anywhere near me nor these two! I can handle myself, thanks!"

"I can't bear to see this…" Tomoyo hid her face in her hands. Eriol hugged her tight.

Sakura lowered down her head. "I told you to go!" she told them in a quite dangerous voice. The mud from her shoulders dripped on the green grasses.

"Ooohh… The lesbian is not asking help from her ickle friends?" Henry Mason's freckled face sneered in front of Syaoran.

"Now what's the idea, you foul, evil—" Syaoran punched Henry's flat nose. Syaoran suddenly laughed softly.

"Oh, I think there's no need for punching that pug nose," he said coldly. "Now untie Kinomoto from that tree unless you want me to flatten your nose… Much more flat than you can hardly imagine…"

The students laughed.

"What in the hell is going on here?" A woman's voice boomed across the fields. This made the students jump. They knew too well who it was.

"Ms. Yano!" yelled Syaoran. "Please come here… Quick… _Hey, I didn't tell you to go!_" He held Mason's shirt while he asked the help of two students to hold Gregory Hamlin, as he is fat and large.

"What is the meaning of this, Mr. Li?" asked Ms. Yano. "You just had your suspension yesterday and now you're getting yourself into a—"

She gasped as she looked at Sakura up and down at the cherry blossom tree.

"Miss… Kinomoto!" she sounded breathless. "Who did this? How did this happen? You're… covered all over with mud!"

"I don't care," spat Sakura, but in a hoarse voice. She coughed.

Syaoran was filled with rage.

"These two scoundrels did it! Please give our friends the justice to speak for themselves! And… And… They even made Tomoyo sing in the waiting area, embarrassing her—"

"This is the first time you've spoken out of turn, Mr. Li," Ms. Yano said quite gently, turning pink. "But as you had said it… I guess Mr. Mason and Mr. Hamlin will have to endure… two weeks worth of suspension, and a nice _F_ in their conduct grades." She looked at the two culprits sharply. "Shame on you two! How could you do this to Ms. Kinomoto and Ms. Daidouji? So this is what the commotion a while ago was about… And, Mr. Li, there's no need for the justice thing. I have already justified this horrible afternoon's incidents the best I can, and I saw the two incidents with my own eyes through my office window. Now, everyone, go home now, your fetchers must be waiting outside…"

The students groaned. Mason and Hamlin ran immediately. They all went back to the waiting area.

"Uhmm, Ms. Yano?" Eriol tugged Ms. Yano's sleeve. The woman turned around, looking at him with those hawk-like eyes.

"Yes, Mr. Hiiragizawa?"

"Can Sakura use the girls' locker room for--?"

"Certainly," Ms. Yano said abruptly and turned to walk away.

Once Sakura had been untied, she breathed. The three helped her get up. They didn't mind getting muddy all over their selves too.

"Why did you bother to help me?" said Sakura in that hoarse voice again. "You should have—"

"You're our friend, Sakura-chan," said Tomoyo. "Nothing could ever stop us from helping a friend in need."

Sakura looked as if she hadn't heard at all. "And how am I gonna get myself dressed up--?" she asked with a pained look on her face.

Eriol was ready for this. "We have to go to the girls' locker room, since locker rooms have a nice bathroom _in case_," he said simply.

Sakura's face was expressionless. She just said, "But the problem is, _what am I gonna wear? _You know very well that I can't wear these again." She pointed at her mud-covered clothes.

The three looked at each other kind of sadly.

But Syaoran smiled just then. "Don't worry… You can use _my_ clothes…"

"WHAT?" Sakura's eyes bulged. She turned pink.

"Well…" Syaoran said weakly. "I mean, I've got an extra t-shirt here in my sports bag and… shorts. The shirt's one of my favorites though, and I had them both washed two days ago. I haven't used them for the day yet, y'know." He too, went pink.

When they got into the girls' locker room, Sakura had no choice but to wear _his_ clothes.

"There, take your time," Syaoran told her while giving her the clothes. Tomoyo accompanied her inside once Eriol had closed the door.

After taking a bath and having dressed up, Sakura looked at herself in the mirror. She grinned. Tomoyo looked at her, laughing.

"That looks cute," she said.

Sakura was wearing a baggy white t-shirt with a picture of Bugs Bunny and red shorts.

"It matches my rubber shoes, too," Sakura pointed at her rubber shoes. It was red and black with a picture of Woody Woodpecker. She and Tomoyo laughed loudly.

"Woah, you're a fan of Looney Tunes stuff, aren't you?" Tomoyo looked at Sakura in awe. Sakura nodded.

"A skateboard and a hat would complete my tomboyish look," she continued laughing.

The two boys heard their laughing.

"What are they laughing at?" This made Eriol smile a bit.

"It's probably my t-shirt and my shorts," Syaoran sighed, smiling. "Err—yeah, _speaking of._"

The two girls came out. Sakura was carrying with her the dirty clothes she wore.

"How do I look?" she beamed.

Eriol let out a deep breath, impressed. "It fits you perfectly. What do you think, Li? Don't you agree with me?"

Syaoran was looking at Sakura from head to foot. His cheeks burned bright red. Tomoyo grinned.

"Oh, c'mon, Syaoran-kun, admit it," she nudged him with her elbow. Sakura was looking at him.

"Yeah, it looks great…" he nodded. Sakura frowned.

"Oh, thanks…" she just said, smiling shortly. "Thanks for the clothes, too. Uh… Can I borrow them—?" She said quite sheepishly.

"Sure thing," replied Syaoran. "If you want, you could keep them. I wouldn't mind anyway."

Sakura thought for a moment, and then hesitated. "N-no, Li-kun, no need, _they're your favorite,_ I'm just gonna borrow them for a night and have them washed and then I'll give it back on Sunday or tomorrow—"

"I said, _'keep it'_," Syaoran said with some sort of a menacing look. "They're yours."

"But—"

"Don't make me kick your butt, Kinomoto-san," Syaoran's face was still burning. "It's yours now and that's FINAL."

They both went red.

Tomoyo giggled. "They sure bicker a lot, and today's still their first day as a couple," she whispered to Eriol.

"But I wonder… Do we have to tell the whole school about this? They'd think this is madness…"

"Well, people's minds work in different ways anyway. But I think we shouldn't tell them, anyhow. And there are things which can't just be told off to public."

**-0-**

On her way home, Sakura was still thinking.

_"What? I'm gonna keep his clothes? Oh well… Once he insisted, I can't say no any longer…"_

But all of a sudden, amidst her deep thinking, she was looking around her for signs of danger, or danger_ itself_.

And she wasn't mistaken about this, for before she could even run for her life, two men wearing guises cornered around her and grasped her arms tightly. Her bag fell off from her shoulder.

"You're Sakura Kinomoto, right?" said the one to her left with a gruff voice.

Sakura didn't have time for second thoughts if she's going to give herself in or if she's going to run away. But one of her strategies is that she's never going to give up without winning _her_ fight.

"No," she said reproachfully. This reminded her of what happened a while ago. "Who are you?"

But the two men didn't answer.

_"But I'm dead sure this is her—"_

_"Master and Mistress described her exactly the way—"_

"Oh, shut up," Sakura drawled. "Now who sent you? Am I right in saying someone wants me dead? _Someone's after the big fortune I will inherit?_" She said shrewdly.

The two men continued to look at her apprehensively. She asked them curtly, "Who sent you? And why haven't you answered my questions yet, dummies?" She kicked the one to her left. This gray-eyed man moaned.

"None of your business," spat the one to her right. Sakura thought for a moment that he saw his clear amber eyes sparkle and shine, as if everything around him was money.

Wait.

_Amber eyes?_

Yup, those amber eyes seemed like _Syaoran's_.

_It can't be._ This man was a bit shorter than Syaoran, as far as Sakura knew. She was a bit taller than this man.

Or _maybe_.

And the man's eyes were _colder_. Syaoran's eyes are _warmer_ and they give her _a feeling of_ _calmness_. Whenever she looks into those deep warm eyes of his, she knows she doesn't need to worry at all, no matter what the cost…

But she found herself being controlled by _her heart_, which is hammering and pounding very fast against her chest. She blurted out, _"Syaoran?"_ She gulped.

She has never felt weaker than today in her entire life, besides by the fact that she was anguished _over_ her uncovered _past_… Which is a complete mystery no one else knows other than Ms. Yano… But no sooner will her past be revealed and will cause _misery _or it could be the painful sensation of tragedy, somehow… Once the feeling is _felt_, it will take time to heal it no matter whatever is the feeling that tickles your insides… Making your stomach lurch… And even the simplest pains will do… When you remember it, the thought haunts again… Comes back… Snapping you back to reality…

"Hoho, Wally, she--" the one to Sakura's left sniggered.

"Shut it, Frank," spat the man called Wally.

Sakura was getting confused. "If that's the only thing you'll do, I have no choice but to escape…" She used her right elbow to knock Wally on his chest. She soon ran, relieved to have managed to escape from Frank's large hands. The two sighed in defeat and walked away as fast as they could.

As she ran off towards home, she was clueless that a man under a hood was able to watch the scene.

"Sakura…" He picked the bag and then slid something inside the pocket.

**-0-**

"Oh, Sakura… we're glad you're back home _safe_."

Sakura looked at Yukon and Sherri doubtfully.

"I was just wondering… Did you know what happened to me a while ago?" She said in a whisper loud enough for them to hear. "I was cornered by two men named Frank and Wally. And by the sound of it, it seemed to me as if you knew what had happened and knew this would happen. Am I right? Well, whatever's your answer…? Oh, I think I don't have time to hear it. I'm tired, and my bag's gone." As always, she asks straightforwardly once she knew that someone's or something's getting in her way.

Sherri gulped, trying to look okay. "Your bag's gone?"

"Those two boneheads got it maybe," Sakura's face was blank as if she didn't care at all.

When she hopped off to her bed, she was glad, for this time, that she had been wearing Syaoran's clothes.

"With these clothes on, it feels easy to defend yourself…" she yawned. Then she sat on the chair by the window, looking outside in such a glorious afternoon. The sun was setting. Then she stared at the broken window of their neighboring house.

"Whoa, no one's still living in that house," she said to herself quietly. "I wonder when a new occupant will move in… And…" She sighed deeply. "The events today are still confusing me… It's as if I'm carrying a heavy load!

"Who are Frank and Wally? _At least I'm glad Wally is no Li Syaoran._ But who sent them? Do Yukon and Sherri know anything about what had just happened to me? It seemed like it… And what are they after? Why did they corner around me? Are they after _my_ big fortune…?

"But after the fire that had killed my family when I was eight… after I had been kidnapped and soon found myself in the orphanage… after I had been adopted by a cruel family and after they sold me to five most wanted criminals and then…" She stopped just there.

"There's no chance. I'm one of those unluckiest children ever born. And I have no choice but to protect myself and the family fortune. This is no ordinary situation. I know many people had tried stealing that fortune but failed… Until that fire…" A tear rolled down her right cheek. She wiped it off immediately.

"I must be brave and put into life what I had learned from my self-defense classes… And _for the first time,_ I think I'm grateful to belong to such a wealthy family… But I still wish I've still got a living relative who can help me and save me…"

And there is.

**-0-**

**_Day 2_**

When Sakura woke up, she felt as though this is just an ordinary day.

"Well, first day had been normal for Li-kun and me," she said as she got down for breakfast. "I don't feel_ anything_ yet. Oh, I nearly forgot… Today's Saturday and it is another day of Redstone basketball practice. Gosh, and the interview too… That means I can wear anything today!"

Later on, Sherri saw her marching to the door.

"You're… going to school?" she said. "But today's Saturday …"

"School activity," Sakura said shortly and then off she went for school.

**TBC**

**AUTHOR'S NOTES with darkshadow36:**

What do you think was Sakura's past? Who were those two guys and who sent them? Why do they want Sakura dead? Does this have anything to do with the big fortune _she_ will _now_ inherit since the real heir to the fortune is now dead? And, who was that man under the hood? Do you think it is… an _enemy_ or _someone who can help_ Sakura? What did he put in Sakura's bag? And who is that living relative?

By now, you've an idea about one or more of the questions.

End of another long and crappy chap. I'm still working out things back here and I hope that was a bit nice for you all. There might be changes in the way the story goes, though. I'm making advanced thoughts to the climax and the conclusion of the story since this fic is directly typed into the computer—that means no paper and pen. But I scribbled down a few notes in a blue notebook.

Anyway, my older sis suggested to me that I shouldn't make it a sad ending. A person also sent me a personal message telling me that I should make it a happy ending. I want to thank her, by the way, if you're reading this right now!

Since I'm proud to be a Filipino, and Filipinos are known to be a happy lot, I should leave first the decision to you guys. What do you want—a happy or a sad ending? You choose. Leave the rest to me once you're able to decide. Sorry in advance if I won't be able to respond to some of your suggestions.

Another thing—if you have changed your pen names—especially to those ff authors (I mean here in this site—can't mention it since they don't allow html readings and stuff), please do inform me immediately through your reviews so I can change the names typed on the first part of Author's Notes whenever I thank you.

Ja ne! Wait for the next update, please. Thanks and keep the fighting spirit.


	5. Once In A While

**AUTHOR'S NOTES with darkshadow36:**

All right! I'm back. Yes, I'm thrilled to say that _I'm back_! Hehe… Jokingly speaking! Anyways, as I always do, I thank my reviewers… _reviewees_…

**_SPECIALTHANKS TO: _****Pinaygrrl, a.s.u.n., obitakuleht, disturbed tammi, cristal-shian, sakandliluver, madcatherine, wiLLowitch, neopyrocitrine, Elihice, Lin, LiLbLuenageL1223, tsuzuki-kun, mauinetani, phycodoughnut, sabishiikage**

**BACK TO darkshadow36:** Sorry if I can't comment on your reviews right now.

To elihice—I don't know what you're trying to imply on your review but certainly I've got my own style. All the same, I appreciated your review; in fact, it has opened my eyes to something.

To you pips out there, go ahead and read the long-awaited chap.

**_: MAIN CHARACTERS:_**

**Li Syaoran** – clueless of what's _behind_ him  
**Sakura Kinomoto** – darkened over her dark past  
**Tomoyo Daidouji** – optimistic and willing to help  
**Eriol Hiiragizawa** – has his hidden talents

**_: SUMMARY FOR CHAPTER 5:_** The four finally gets to be interviewed—and it was in just a short while! And finally, Sakura's bag has been found.

**(UPDATED: May 14, 2005) Chapter 5: Once In a While**

**-0-**

**_…at Redstone, Syaoran and Sakura's second day…_**

A few and a half hours had already passed since Sakura went out of her house. She now found herself sitting with other people, mostly students, inside the Redstone court. There were no teachers around, except for the moderator of the school paper, Ms. Finn.

"Way to go, Li!" Sakura yelled excitedly as she gleefully watched Syaoran and the others play basketball. He was able to block Yamazaki from shooting in the basket. The ball hit the basket but it didn't get in. The ball then bounced back to Yamazaki, hitting him on the head when he wasn't looking.

All the people laughed, and so did Yamazaki.

Meanwhile, Tomoyo was far too preoccupied to watch the practice. She had been looking at Sakura ever since she yelled those words, which were minutes ago. She only glances at the practice once in a while, usually catches up with those funny parts when Yamazaki gets a nice little told off joke by other players. Other people inside the court were enjoying this sight.

Tomoyo cleared her throat. Sakura spun around to look at her as she sipped from her coke.

"Eh?" she said.

"I was just wondering…" Tomoyo said as she wrinkled her nose, "since you and Syaoran-kun are now… err…"

"We're not yet official," Sakura sipped again from her coke. "In fact, I don't feel anything yet, if you know what I mean. It'll take decades before I fall for a slug like him; he shouldn't have thought about that 100-day deal stuff. So, what were you asking?" She said sheepishly.

Tomoyo laughed at her softly. "Don't call him a slug, y'know," she said. "He's pretty nice… I thought you were best friends? You don't seem to treat him that way anymore. It's like, more than what you really are…"

Sakura went pink. "Nah, you better cut it out before I throw my bag on your—" She stopped. She remembered her lost bag, but she now feels less concern about it._ 'Just a few notes and books were there anyway, I could buy the books and copy the notes from my classmates,' _she thought.

"You're… not bringing any bag with you," said Tomoyo. "Is anything the matter about a bag? Looks like there is," she seemed to know something.

"Wait," Sakura kept herself calm. "You know about my lost bag yesterday?"

Tomoyo gaped at her. "That's a big _no_… But now you mentioned it, it's time for you to tell me the story!"

_'How could you be such an idiot,'_ Sakura thought. She was getting quite annoyed, wishing she didn't come here at all.

"Okay, whatever," Sakura began, "I met two boneheads yesterday on my way to _my humble abode_, and they cornered me around and blah blah blah… They asked me about… something…" She didn't want to mention anything about her big fortune. Tomoyo noticed she was looking quite uneasy when she said the last sentence. She continued, "My bag fell off when they got me. I only realized it wasn't with me any longer along my way home. But I think those two didn't steal it. It only contained books and notes and other school stuff… Including my mud-splattered clothes…" She frowned slightly upon the thought.

"Don't you want to come back for your bag in case it's still there?" asked Tomoyo.

Sakura shook her head. "I don't think it's still there, that was yesterday afternoon and a night had already gone."

"Hey…" Tomoyo exclaimed, "Why don't we tell Syaoran-kun and Eriol-kun? Maybe they can help…"

"I don't think so—"

"Want to share something with me, _sweetie_?" Sakura recognized Syaoran's teasing voice.

"What are you doing here? You're both supposed to be in the practice," Sakura's mouth twitched sideways.

"Haven't you heard?" Syaoran continued in his drawling sarcastic voice as he sat down beside Eriol, who gave Tomoyo an I-know-where-this-is-going look. "Yamazaki _yelled_ that we've got a nice 30-minute break! We've been here for hours, y'know, and we deserve a break! Unless you want Redstone to lose on our next game…"

"Don't be stupid, Li, I trust Redstone athletes!" Sakura said hotly, avoiding commotion. "All of 'em, except _you_, that is!"

"But I'm a heartthrob! I'm perfect! Girls—"

"Redstone's giggly _pink_ girls are stupid enough to like you—"

"What do you mean by _pink_, _punk_?" Syaoran retorted, keeping his voice low enough too.

"_Too feminine_!" Sakura stopped there. Syaoran noticed this since she suddenly looked away.

"What's up with you? Don't you want to continue our fight, _sweetheart_?" Syaoran said bracingly.

"Dimwit, shut up," Eriol put a hand on Syaoran's shoulder. "Keiichi and Hikari are approaching us, see?"

Syaoran looked. Indeed, the two school paper members were approaching them with those smiles plastered on their faces.

"Kinomoto-san, just don't tell them anything about you-know-what," Syaoran whispered quickly. Sakura heard but she didn't respond in any way.

"Hiya, _heartthrobs_!" Keiichi seemed to be in a very good mood today. "It's really nice of you all to gather around here… Hehe… Just joking… I think we should begin now…"

"Yes," Hikari sat down beside Keiichi on a bench below the four's. "And we'll make things quick since the practice will resume in 15 minutes." The tip of her pen stood poised on her notebook. She prepared herself for this.

"Okay… First question," Hikari quickened her voice with every word, "How did you become a couple, Mr. Hiiragizawa and Ms. Daidouji?"

"Err…" Eriol's face reddened slightly. He too, was ready for this, he had been thinking about his lines since practice started. "I… courted Tomoyo. She's new to the neighborhood and Sakura was one of her first friends then. They used to be neighbors in the other side of town, as Sakura had told me before we boys met her… I'm the closest friend of Sakura while Syaoran and Tomoyo are the closest." He thought for a while.

"Ooh," Hikari gushed and then went back to her questioning. She turned to Syaoran and Sakura who weren't looking at each other. "And you two? How did you become a _couple_?"

"We're not a couple," Sakura snapped. "Li's fans are undoubtedly jealous though. Those riffraff from the fan clubs had been stalking us for sometime, and there is one of them, looking right at us." She didn't turn to the direction where the girl was sitting. The other five looked and they saw Karen Yu look away when she realized they saw her.

"But, Mr. Li, don't you have a plan of courting her too? Many from our batch think you'd make a great couple!

The two blushed. Eriol chuckled.

Hikari bit her lip. "Err… Last question, I think… Aren't you afraid of whatever will be the reaction of your fans?"

"No," said Syaoran. "I think they've got their own lives to live and we've got ours. We're not trying to be mean or something, but, I think they shouldn't even come buzzing around Eriol and me every time they see us. For goodness' sake, we're ordinary people too."

"Ah, okay," Keiichi smiled. "But we're also your fans, you know. I think this is all the time we have for now. I know that was kind of short, very short… I was wondering why you didn't have the time for the interview yesterday…" He said that hastily. He continued, "But anyway, that'd make a great headline article, though. And I think all students will receive copies of the school paper after 25 days or something. Well… Chow!" He and Hikari ran as fast as they could, approaching Ms. Finn.

"Not an ordinary interview for me," said Eriol. "But I think they did fine 'coz they're just new to the school paper. They're polite… Unlike when we were in eighth grade, those ninth and tenth graders interviewing us keep on buzzing around us… They used to ask many pointless questions."

"Kinomoto, why are you so _mean_to me? I haven't even done anything wrong to you!"

"Well, if you want to be on _my_ soft side, stop calling me _sweetie_ or _sweetheart_ or something like that! You know I don't act like a normal girl!"

"As if _you_ ever had a soft side! It's a shame you act like a lesbian! What's more, we might see you hanging out with a girl no sooner, if you know what I mean!"

Eriol covered his eyes with his left hand as he lowered his face. "Ooh, looks like another round of trouble."

"You know, Syaoran-kun… You shouldn't add yourself to her burdens 'coz she's lost her bag yesterday," Tomoyo spoke up. Syaoran rounded on her, and then his eyes snapped back at Sakura who looked at him unblinkingly.

"You shouldn't have told him," she said flatly.

Tomoyo realized she shouldn't _really_ have told him, because this was what happened next.

"But… We have lots of homework to do! And it's Trigonometry quiz on Monday! Mr. Hahn wants us to do his stupid essay for Geography! And—" He looked quite panic-stricken. "Now tell me what happened, Kinomoto, maybe Eriol and I can help you about your bag—"

"Ooohh, concerned now, eh?" Sakura continued looking at him with those cold eyes.

"TEAM! Back to practice!" Yamazaki's voice boomed across the court.

"We'll continue this talk later!" Syaoran waved his hand as he and Eriol got down from the benches and off to the middle of the court.

"Why did you tell him?" Sakura said, calming herself. Tomoyo, however, looked quite as panic-stricken as Syaoran was a while ago.

"It's because… I know they can help you! Err…"

"In what way?" Sakura required.

Tomoyo sighed for a while. "Well, I suppose they can use their popularity to advantage," she said tersely. "What's nice about them both is that they're always willing to help during these times…"

Sakura groaned. "I just can't imagine Syaoran being willing to help me out," she said. "I don't think—"

"Stop being stubborn, or else he_ really_ won't help you," Tomoyo said in a this-will-totally-solve-the-matter tone.

Sakura quieted herself for some moments.

_'All right, I can forget our fights for a while,'_ she thought. 'And I hope that'd be a big help for our 100-day deal. We're on our second day as a couple anyway and we're not supposed to admit anything yet to the school body… I just hope someone will return my bag; it didn't contain anything that valuable when it was stolen or snatched…' She was a bit surprised that she became kind of worried about her bag this time. She was jolted back to her senses when she realized she really needed to catch up with the top students of their batch, since she used to be one.

Soon, after the basketball practice which ended a few hours later, the four went directly to Silverfang Restaurant, which were a few distances away from Redstone School to have their lunch. It was Eriol's treat.

"So, how will we find my lost bag?" said Sakura, looking outside.

Syaoran looked at her. "Even if I'm willing to help you the best I can, we just can't do it by posting flyers around about it saying your bag's missing. People will think we're nuts. Imagine…" A picture of him advertising a flyer saying 'Have you seen a dark-colored lost bag' floated in his mind.

"We're not going to post flyers, dummy," Tomoyo chuckled. "We're not that stupid. And I don't think even the culprit wouldn't return it if ever he passes by the flyer."

"Yeah," said Eriol. "And it's the same with TV advertising; we couldn't do that either. We can't afford to disgrace Redstone and to make a fool of ourselves."

"Just forget it," snapped Sakura, her eyes drooping. "It's only a bag. I don't mind copying notes from classmates; in fact, I think that'll occupy my mind into something _new_, I s'pose, to keep me from fighting people… What do you think about me fighting my notebooks and books instead? You know, I can throw them across my room or bite them…"

"I think that's way more brutal than fighting people," Syaoran snapped, taking a big bite on his sandwich. "I'd love to see you do it, _sweetie_."

**_Day 3_**

"Sakura!"

The emerald-eyed girl didn't seem to hear.

"Sakura!"

Sakura Kinomoto continued to toss and turn on her bed.

"SAKURA KINOMOTO! Get down here this second!"

She got irritated. She covered her ears with her pillow, a bit confused.

'Who's Sherri to destroy my beauty sleep… Why would she be yelling out so loud at this time of a beautiful sunny morn?' She thought.

"All right, _sleepyhead_! I'm coming up there to kick it out of you—"

"No need!" Sakura's eyes snapped open immediately. "Why—"

"Your friend Tomoyo Daidouji is here!"

Sakura exactly got down from her room that moment. Yukon snored from the other room at the same time. This made her grin to herself, thinking it was very funny.

"Oh," she said, approaching her friend who had just got in. Sherri then walked back to the dining room where she was cooking breakfast.

Sakura beckoned Tomoyo to sit down on the sofa in the living room. She turned on the TV for a bit of entertainment.

"So, what brings you here very early in the morning?" yawned Sakura.

Tomoyo held up a bag with lots of button pins on the strap. Sakura gaped at it.

"Isn't this yours?" smiled Tomoyo. Sakura looked at her, and then nodded.

"Yes… But how--?"

"I don't know either," Tomoyo grinned. "All I know is that it landed right on our doorstep this morning. And I immediately knew this was yours because that someone who left it on our doorstep left a note. Here," she handed Sakura a small piece of crumpled paper. "It was already crumpled when I saw it."

_'Please give this to Ms. Sakura Kinomoto who lives in Number 15, __Bluebell Street__.'_

"But… How did that man know where I live?" Sakura's face was blank. "All the same, thanks to him…" As Tomoyo handed her the bag, she remembered something.

"You know, Tomoyo…" she said, "I think there had been someone watching me the day I dropped my bag…"

Tomoyo sighed deeply. "Well, maybe that explains it," she said simply. "Anyway, I'm surprised no one dared steal it since it looked as if it had been there for the whole morn. Maybe that someone watched for it all throughout the morning until I woke up to get it."

Sakura didn't mind asking any more information. Sherri soon came in and brought them a tray of snacks.

"Thanks, Sherri," Sakura said without looking at her. The woman just went back to her business.

"I don't want to butt in, but…" Tomoyo hesitated at first, but Sakura looked at her expectantly. She continued, "How does it feel--?"

"I'm okay with them, as long as they don't butt in my business too much," Sakura replied hastily.

Tomoyo tried changing the subject. "Oh and… That's not the only reason why I'm here," she opened her bag and held up two sheets of long cardboard.

"What's that? Some sort of junk?"

"Hoho, very funny," Tomoyo said a bit sarcastically. "No…" She gave Sakura a cardboard. "I call this the _100-day love calendar_, specially made for you and Syaoran-kun. I designed it, so better make good use of it."

Sakura looked at it. Indeed, it was designed beautifully with those matching flowers and other calligraphic stuff.

"I also wrote there the date when you and Syaoran first agreed on your deal," explained Tomoyo, "and what will you do with that? It's perfectly simple. Just write on the boxes below each date what you and Syaoran were able to do for that particular day. In that way, I guess it could help you both understand what's really love… Or in short, it's some sort of a diary. Don't make your notes too long, though—just the important stuff. It's back-to-back. The first 50 days are on the front as you can see now, and the other half at the back. You can fold it if you want… Just don't throw it."

"Okay…" Sakura munched on a cookie. "When did you make these?"

"Last night," answered Tomoyo. And then a smile played on her lips. "I think Syaoran is coming any time by now…" She said in a low voice only she and Sakura can hear.

"What the hell do you mean?" Sakura stood up, nearly knocking off the vase near her.

Tomoyo smiled calmly. "I thought Syaoran can help you with our assignments…"

"But he isn't my classmate!" Sakura hissed. "He doesn't know what's going on in our class! Teachers usually give out different tasks for every class! You should have invited Eriol instead!"

"He told me he couldn't come 'coz he got a dressing down by his guardian…" said Tomoyo, "and so I invited Syaoran to come along to celebrate with you the _homecoming_ of your bag…" She laughed at the thought of Sakura's bag flying above with wings saying 'I'm home!'

It seemed as though Sakura had read her mind about the flying bag. "Well… I will give Syaoran too his calendar…"

Sakura never mind asking more details. She was a bit weak to say more, especially after being awaken up so abruptly.

"I'm glad he could come…" she said, although she didn't want to say that at all.

_"SWEETIE!__ Open the door!"_ someone yelled from outside.

"Grr…" Sakura hit her forehead with her hand. "Will he stop calling me those fucking names?"

Tomoyo laughed again. 'Oh, Sakura… You're so _comical_ sometimes…' She thought as she watched Sakura approach the door in anger.

The door flew open in front of Syaoran's sneering face. "I've come here to celebrate your bag's _return_," he said jokingly. "I hope my girlfriend will let me come in her humble abode, as I am her humble boyfriend."

Sakura stuck out her tongue. "All right, come in, you mutt…"

When the three of them were gathered in the living room, Tomoyo gladly gave Syaoran his 100-day love calendar. Tomoyo soon left after that. Sakura and Syaoran feasted on the cookies and milk.

"So, need help with the Geography essay?" Syaoran said coolly. Sakura shook her head.

"No, thanks," she said slowly. "I excel in Geography. You can even ask Mr. Hahn about that. But anyway, I think we should take a better look at our ickle calendar here…"

Syaoran looked at his impressively. "Tomoyo's a really great designer when it comes to these kinds of things," he said. "I guess I'll take her word for it. Let's say… Why don't we try writing something on each box? I mean, what happened to us two days before since this is specially made for us and for our 100-day deal. Can I borrow a pen please, sweetheart?"

Sakura gritted her teeth. It's no use trying to argue back because she didn't want to wake up Yukon and Sherri; and she doesn't feel like retorting back at Syaoran. "Whatever," she reached for two pens on the nearside table and both of them started scribbling.

"What shall we write in the first box? So, that was Friday… And we both discussed our heartbreak situations…" Syaoran said bemusedly. Sakura didn't reply back for she was busy writing on her first box.

When she had finished writing for the two boxes, she showed Syaoran what she wrote.

Syaoran read:

_'Day 1 – Yesterday, Syaoran and I agreed on this weird thing about us being a couple for 100 days. Today's our first day. Things went well as the day continued. We admitted to Eriol and Tomoyo why we did it, and they laughed… Well, all the same, they supported us and we all promised to keep it a secret. What have we learned about love this day? Well, it's only the beginning, you'll never know._

_Day 2 – It was Syaoran and Eriol's basketball practice. Gack. Syaoran and I keep on arguing already, honestly speaking. Two members of the school paper were assigned to interview us; and it was a short interview. And I think they love their work so much they could try licking Syaoran's shoes.'_

Syaoran looked at Sakura with that screwed face.

"Hey, there's nothing—"

"Sorry, can't erase that," Sakura interrupted him, smiling in a sarcastic way. "Now let me see what you've written in yours. Oh, and… If you did the same to me, you know what I can do to you—"

"I know!" Syaoran started scribbling as fast as he could on his first two boxes.

Sakura played with her fingers, waiting patiently. "I can hardly wait to see what you've written," she said enthusiastically.

Syaoran continued to write furiously. Soon, he was finished. That was two minutes later.

It was Sakura's turn to read. She babbled aloud:

_'Day 1 – Heartbreaks and curiosity… That's what made Sakura and I do it—to be a couple for 100 days! For today, we walked together to school hand in hand. We decided then not to tell anybody except to our other best friends, who are now a young coupling—Eriol and Tomoyo. Yeah, right, say I'm stupid about the plan. And imagine, we got ourselves into a fight with two boneheads._

_Day 2 – We had a half-day practice at the Redstone court. We've been interviewed by two youngsters for the first time. I mean, those years before—we've never been interviewed by pips who are younger than us. Ang guess what—Sakura lost her bag. She had been cornered around by two big blokes.'_

"Good job," Sakura said mildly. "Err… Since you're already here, maybe you can help me with my Science assignment…"

"Why not?" Syaoran said eagerly. Sakura then brought out her science notebook.

_"Hey, Li… What's the answer to this one? Vehicle give off exhaust in the form of…?"_

_"The answer to that one's carbon dioxide…"_

_"How about this?"_

It took them an hour to finish it.

Just then, Sakura paused for a moment a few minutes after the assignment.

"Li… I think you should go now…"

"Why is that?"

"Hurry up, Li! Just go!" Sakura whispered. "Yukon and Sherri… I can hear them going down the stairs!"

"What's the problem with that?"

"They might think you're my boyfriend or—"

"But that's the way it is! J—"

"Well—"

Syaoran looked at Sakura, puzzled. "But I've been here once before, remember? And they didn't even put malice to that."

Sakura gulped. "But that was because they knew I was looking for someone to talk to that time… And I think that's why they didn't even inquire what your name is and why you have come…"

"All right, whatever you say, honeybunch," Syaoran quickly ran towards the door and outside he went.

Sakura breathed a sigh of relief. At that exact moment her two guardians appeared.

"Tomoyo… She had to go home quickly," Sakura said hastily before the two could think of anything else that might lead this subject somewhere. "She just helped me with my assignments."

Sherri looked at her doubtfully with those hazel eyes. "But, Sakura, I would like to ask you a question…"

Sakura looked at her.

"Why was there a male voice a while ago? I've heard…"

"Oh, you're mistaken by that," Sakura said quite nervously. "Tomoyo and I had been playing RPG… And she had to imitate a man's voice."

"Oh, I see…" Sherri sighed. "And… what's RPG?"

"Role-playing game," Sakura said quite cheerfully, knowing that she wouldn't ask any more questions regarding the male voice.

**-0-**

**_Day 4_**

"Wow… How touching…" Tomoyo rubbed her eyes to wipe off a few tears, "It's about the love between parents and their children."

Syaoran pretended to puke. "Geez, Tomoyo-chan, I can't believe you're affected to this TV show thing…"

"Well, it doesn't happen everyday, you know," Tomoyo said.

"I've never seen someone cry during watching this show," Eriol's eyes widened. "Except for you, that is."

"Oh, c'mon, _this_ kind of thing doesn't happen everyday," Sakura grinned, looking back at the large TV screen. "I mean, when someone cries in front of the giant screen…"

They laughed.

It was Sunday. The four of them were at Eriol's house. Eriol invited them all to come to his house since he'll be alone for the whole day. His guardian went out to have fun with her friends.

"So, what did you do yesterday?" Syaoran asked.

"I did our assignments and some more school stuff," Eriol replied. "And I'm not allowed to go out during weekends."

"But why not?" Sakura continued watching the show.

Eriol shrugged. "I guess Nakuru is very overprotective when it comes to me… All the same, I appreciate her for that."

"What—having yourself cooped up here during weekends while your guardian goes out? I think that's a torture already," Sakura said quite sympathetically.

"You don't know what it's like being with Nakuru, though," Eriol smiled. "It's fun. And I think you haven't met her yet…"

_"So is this what you've been up to?"_

**AUTHOR'S NOTES with darkshadow36:**

Well, I have to leave a bit cliffhanger there, but I suppose you already know what's going to happen next? I guess you should just stay tuned to see what happens next.

BTW, I think this might be my last update for now, but I'll do my best to type the other chaps.

I won't be surprised if only a few reviews for this chap, since I haven't updated for so long. Want to know why?—Well, it's the time.

Thanks and tell me what you think!


	6. A World of Mysteries

**AUTHOR'S NOTES with darkshadow36:**

Oh well, I'll be going back to school on June 8. I might not be able to update this fic as soon as I can. But as long as there are research projects and stuff to do, maybe I can try sneaking, if you know what I mean!

**_SPECIALTHANKS TO:_**

**obitakuleht:** Thank you very much, really! Whoa… I found the sweat dropping part funny. Hehe!  
**Lin:** Arigatou gozaimasu! I guess we'll talk more about this at the _you__-know-where_.  
**Pinaygrrl:** Gee, thanks very much for the support! I thought you were no longer going to review since I hadn't updated for so long. (all smiles)  
**sabishiikage:** _Thankyouthankyou_! That helped me in typing this sixth chap. I was encouraged by that!  
**Sanoske and Kiri:** Wow… That's very nice of you both! I really find your review amusing. Thanks for the support, yes, I did appreciate that very well!  
**killer2be:** Thank you. But I thought you wouldn't find it funny… All the same, I really tried making it a bit funny but in the _dark humor way_, as I call it… Still, thanks again! Lol!  
**youkaigirl64:** Sure thing! And a bit more could be found in this chap!  
**prettycosmosis:** Hehe… Of course their fights would soon lessen, but to tell you honestly, there's going to be a big fight somewhere in the middle of the story itself! Sorry for that little piece of spoiler… But still, I want to thank you for dropping by a review!  
**Unknown:** Thanks! Gee, I really don't know how much I want to thank all of you for those nice reviews you dropped by, all of you! Your reviews warm my heart, honestly, because actually, I was in a bad mood when I wrote the fifth chap. But anyways, hope you'll still support! (Did I sound too rude? Sorry about it.).  
**cuteblossom: **As I have told the others, I want to thank you too! I'm glad you appreciated my story. It hadn't been that easy to cook up another plotline for this fic.  
**mauinetani:** Ohayo! How's my besty? _Talagang gusto kitang pasalamatan._ _Ang_ sweet _mo talaga._ _Sayang nga lang at manhid yung isa diyan. Di ba kilala mo yung tinutukoy ko?_ Hehe. I'm going to review in your third fic soon.  
**neopyrocitrine:** Ei! _Musta__ na?_ Hope you're okay. I miss you dreadfully! Try visiting HFS for sometime.

**BACK TO darkshadow36:** To you pips out there, go ahead and read the long-awaited chap.

**_: MAIN CHARACTERS:_  
Li Syaoran** – clueless of what's _behind_ him  
**Sakura Kinomoto** – darkened over her dark past  
**Tomoyo Daidouji** – optimistic and willing to help  
**Eriol Hiiragizawa** – has his hidden talents

**_: SUMMARY FOR CHAPTER 6:_** It's meeting the folks! How will things go for the four of them? Will their parents and guardians accept their special relationships? Another, Sakura discovers half about what really happened to her family… Does she still have hope? And, there's an unknown enemy on the run… It's all that in this chap!

**(UPDATED: ****May 27, 2005****) Chapter 6: A World of Mysteries**

**-0-**

Monday—the four were at Eriol's house, which is just a few walking distances from the school. Ten minutes had already passed since they arrived. They promised to have dinner at Eriol's house for today.

Tomoyo had already informed her mother that she'd be at Eriol's house for the whole afternoon and that she'll be back home by 6:30 p.m... As for Syaoran and Sakura, they have no intention of telling their folks at all.

_"So is this what you've been up to?" _The booming voice repeated. The four looked back in fear and saw a young woman with long hair and she looked as if her eyes were dancing madly.

"Err, guys, this is Nakuru, _Akizuki Nakuru_," Eriol stood up while nodding towards this strange-looking girl. He smiled quite sheepishly. "Uh, Nakuru, I thought you were out with your friends and stuff…"

Sakura looked at Nakuru from head to toe.

_'I think I've already heard her name before…'_ she thought.

"Well, mister, for your information…" Nakuru looked at Eriol's friends and gaped at them, "I want to check you first before I go on with my business."

Eriol put a hand on Nakuru's shoulder. "C'mon, Nakuru-san, I'm no longer a kid."

"Is this what you call… _fun_?" Sakura said loudly. Nakuru's eyes rounded on Sakura.

"Why not introduce your friends to me, eh?" Nakuru smiled. This surprised Sakura. "It would be a pleasure for me to get to know them _very well_."

Eriol thought Nakuru was going to strangle Sakura by the way she spoke, but he soon found himself talking about them quite soothingly.

"Uh, this is Li Syaoran, my co-player in the Redstone basketball team," Eriol began, "this is Tomoyo Daidouji… And this is Sakura Kinomoto."

Hearing Sakura's name had had an effect on Nakuru, and this really surprised the four of them, especially Sakura.

"You're a… Kinomoto?" said Nakuru, looking at her closely. Sakura just nodded. "Then you're…"

"WHAT?" The four said altogether.

Nakuru bit her tongue. "Oh, nothing," she said. "I just thought she was someone else I knew… So, how about getting to know them more?" She smiled jubilantly. "Wait a minute; I'll just prepare the dinner, but it may take time." Then she ran straight into the kitchen while bouncing like a bunny.

"Wait—are you still going out?" Eriol yelled.

"Not anymore!" Nakuru yelled back at him. Then the four settled down again and they continued watching TV.

"She sounds pretty happy about staying here instead of going out," Syaoran smirked. "Anyway, it's strange how she acted a while ago towards Kinomoto-san. It seems like she knew something about her that we don't."

"Well, I suppose it's about Sakura's past… Maybe…" Eriol cupped his chin thoughtfully with his hand. "All we know about Sakura's past is that she belongs to an aristocratic family. They're all very sophisticated… And Sakura's currently adopted by a couple."

"Since Sakura never told us much about her past, maybe we could just ask Nakuru instead," Tomoyo shrugged.

That was when they realize Sakura wasn't with them on the sofa.

"I'm here in the kitchen, guys!" They heard Sakura's voice. The three sighed in relief, and so they continued watching TV.

"_Look, it's the carrot-head man who saved the day!_" Syaoran said gleefully.

**-0-**

Nakuru and Sakura were both at the kitchen.

"I was right," said Nakuru, still looking at Sakura. "The moment I rested my eyes on you, I knew you were a Kinomoto! But I quite doubted it because… I've heard that your house got burned down… I'm sorry to hear that… And I thought your whole family's gone!"

Sakura just looked at the other three who were now watching a DVD of '_Cooking Monsters_'. They were laughing again, and hearing them this happy made her quite glad she was here with them. "Yeah, and I think I've already heard your name before. Anyway, tell me more about it," she just said.

Nakuru took a nice and deep long breath. "All right, but first of all, I want to ask you if… Am I right in saying that your tragedy happened when you were only eight?"

"Yeah," Sakura nodded. "Go on …"

"Well, your family's famous during our time! And you're like fifteen years old now and you're still famous!" Nakuru looked quite outraged but Sakura didn't mind. "People are still investigating your tragedy, y'know…"

"So what are you exactly trying to imply then?" Sakura asked anxiously.

"Your family's not without enemies," Nakuru said slowly. But Sakura still had that tough look.

"Look here, M—" she looked at her inquiringly.

"Just call me Nakuru, please," Nakuru interrupted.

"Right, _Nakuru_," Sakura continued, "As you have just said, my family's not without enemies. But those people who you call enemies… They're just the people who want to steal our fortune. People were too greedy back then."

"Yes," said Nakuru, "When it was reported on news about that tragic incident, many were shocked, of course… And guess what—it was also reported on the news that your parents' bodies were found—"

"I know that," Sakura said in a quite bored way. "And they also reported that I'm still alive and well since I wasn't in the house when the tragedy happened. I didn't watch the news though during that time. They even said my brother also died when the fire appeared and burned the house down. That literally means I have no more living relatives left. I'm the last of the Kinomotos… And I don't know if I can protect the fortune at such a young age…"

"Actually," Nakuru looked furtively at the three who kept on laughing, "your brother _is_ missing."

"What do you mean?" Sakura said incredulously.

"Don't you see?"

"Get straight to _the point_."

Nakuru paused for a while and finally said, "You still have a living relative, Sakura-san. You still have hope. Literally, y_ou still have my friend, Touya Kinomoto._"

**-0-**

_"NO! NO! NO!"_

"What are you shouting at dear?" Yukon jumped, quite terrified. "You seem… upset about something—"

"Oh, yes, yes!" The 26-year old woman nodded furiously. "You know what; I should have said a _flat no_ to that evil witch!"

Yukon gulped. "You mean—_Madam_?"

"Of course," Sherri tried her best to calm down herself. She sat down beside her husband who had just turned on the TV. "If only I knew Sakura would be coming to our lives…"

"But… She seems to detest you a lot these days—"

"Say _'ever since we came to adopt her'_," Sherri interrupted. "All the same, I still love her no matter how much she turns her back on us…"

Yukon sighed. "Why would you be so hopeful though? I will give up immediately if I were you."

Sherri let out a yawn. "What? You'll easily give up just like that?" she said, her eyes widening. "Geez, I wish I didn't marry a schmuck like you." She laughed.

Yukon laughed too. "You and Sakura are so much alike, you know… And anyway, why did we land on this subject?"

"I just thought of putting it up because… Oh, that doesn't matter anyway…"

"All right, whatever you say. So why are you still hoping for such thing?"

Sherri smiled. "It's because… I know someday she'll come back to us… And if that day ever happens, I know that _that will be the time I'll die_."

**-0-**

"I can't believe it…" Sakura's smile brightened. "Thanks for the info, Nakuru. I owe you one!"

"It's okay…" Nakuru grinned as she prepared their snacks.

"But… How did you know that? Are you both still communicating?"

"Well, sorta," said Nakuru. "I can't tell you much though, sorry. Touya told me not to tell you more about what's been happening to _them_."

"_Them_? What do you mean? Do you mean to say that—_my parents are still alive_? C'mon, tell me more!" She had been so excited that she nearly knocked off the plates beside her.

Nakuru shook her head. "I'm really sorry, Sakura… Your parents are really dead now; their bodies are proofs. Well… Uh…" her face screwed up. But she continued, "But I really can't tell you more there is to know about Touya's _things_…"

Sakura looked quite expectant. Nakuru felt sorry for her, and so she just chose to make things a bit easier. But when she said her next words, it hadn't been that easy for Sakura.

"But I can tell you four more things—first, I can't answer some of the questions that are circling around your mind now; second, I promise you I won't tell this secret to anyone, since it came to my knowledge from Eriol that you don't want to say anything involving your past. Third, _Touya was the one who returned your bag_. And finally the fourth—you can now watch along with the others. I know someday you'll find the answers to your questions."

"But—"

"Ah, ah, ah," Nakuru put up her forefinger. "I've told you much now… And Touya's gonna cut off my tongue if this comes to his knowledge. Anyway, even Eriol doesn't know this secret I'm hiding. _We're_ hiding." She whispered. "But I believe that they'll soon know. There's no use hiding it forever."

Sakura had no choice. Though she was eager to know more, she just sighed sadly and went back to the living room and then she sat down beside Tomoyo.

"It looks like you and Nakuru got on well," said Eriol. Sakura just nodded.

Tomoyo, meanwhile, kept on gushing at the monsters. "Hey, Sakura-chan, look at that monster! His name's Wiki. Isn't he cute?"

"What makes him cute, eh, Tomoyo-san?" Syaoran drawled.

"Well, Syaoran…" Eriol said, "Just look at Wiki… He's got the head of a monkey, a body of a hamster, and legs of that of a frog. Imagine if we have an animal like that today. It'll be amazing."

"I'd like it much better if its body is that of an elephant," Syaoran said grimly.

**-0-**

"Well, I've already introduced Eriol to my mom…" Tomoyo told Nakuru, blushing. "And she… liked him." She smiled beamingly.

Nakuru squealed in delight, making the four leap in surprise. "Oh that's wonderful! And I also approve of your relationship… In fact, I think you'd make a great couple." She clapped her hands. "Who wouldn't like my dear baby Eriol anyway? I raised him ever since he was a baby… Look at that angelic smile, those mysterious but captivating eyes…"

"Cut it out," Eriol went red. "How many times do I have to tell you that _I'm no longer a baby_? Unless you want me to search for your brain, I hope that'll help!"

"I'm glad he's no longer a baby!" Nakuru said loudly, ignoring Eriol. "I find your love story very fascinating. Eriol told me about it," Nakuru's proud face was still fixed on Tomoyo. Syaoran and Sakura suppressed a grin.

Suddenly, Nakuru turned to look at Syaoran, who froze. Sakura laughed.

"You look very cute when you freeze, Li-kun," she said. "I think I'd prefer to see you like that most of the time so that we could no longer argue."

Syaoran groaned. But he immediately pulled himself together. He smiled teasingly at Sakura.

"Oh well…" he smiled bracingly, "I always look cute in different angles, you know. I thought you knew that, Kinomoto-san."

"What an arrogant man," Sakura looked at him disapprovingly. "I should have known—you're one of those dominant men I ever knew in my entire life—"

"Hey, wait," Nakuru stood up and was able to stop the two from getting at each other, "I thought you're also a coupling like Eriol and Tomoyo. Why are you arguing?"

"I'm afraid you're mistaken by that, Miss Nakuru—" Sakura looked at her with an eyebrow raised.

"Uh, Nakuru, you know what—your day will never be complete without seeing them argue about life's smallest details and that…" Eriol said slowly.

Despite this 'horrible' fact, Nakuru still looked fascinated by the two. "As they say, the more you hate the person, the more you love that person!" She pouted cutely.

"WHAT MAKES YOU SAY THAT?" Syaoran and Sakura said at the same time.

"Ooh… This is becoming more interesting than I thought…" Tomoyo looked at them with pure interest and fascination.

Nakuru agreed. "Can't you tell how that is?" she said. "They say that if you hate the person, it means you care about that person by the way you retort back at each other!"

Sakura frowned slightly. "Love doesn't have anything to do with it at all—"

"As for your case, it does," Nakuru seemed serious this time. "Surely the thought of why you hate Syaoran so much will always cross your mind especially that you get to see each other almost everyday, correct me if I'm mistaken… Surely you might think one of these days… '_Maybe I've actually fallen for him'_…" she sighed dreamily. "And Syaoran might feel the same way about you too!"

"That's nonsense!" Sakura said airily.

"I will never fall for my best friend," Syaoran said sharply. "We're just friends and that's there is to it."

Eriol grinned. "Sorry about that, guys. She reads romance novels and loves them so much. That results to her wide imagination and to her strong knack for smelling love in the air. She even told me once, back when I was still little, that she was able to match her guy best friend to that woman he absolutely hated."

"You're pulling my leg, aren't you?" said Sakura. Eriol shook his head.

"Ask the matchmaker yourself," he said simply.

Nakuru's lips moved in sarcasm. "And why is it that you call each other by last names even if you treat each other as best friends?" she boomed out. Syaoran and Sakura avoided each other's gaze and gulped. "What is going on here, exactly? I smell something fishy about you two…"

"There's nothing going on between us, nothing at all!" Sakura wiped off the sweat from her face. 'Oh c'mon, I want to go home now…' she thought earnestly.

"She's right! She's right!" Syaoran nodded furiously.

"Hmm?" Nakuru raised her eyebrows. "I doubt it. Both of you seem nervous about something, and that's one of the signs."

The two didn't say anything for a long time. It was a quiet moment for all of them. Nakuru just looked at Syaoran, and then at Sakura, then at Syaoran, and then at Sakura, and so on until Tomoyo decided to change the subject.

"Uh, Sakura-chan, how's your love calendar so far—"

Syaoran can no longer bear the situation. He had no choice but to tell the story. Only Eriol and Tomoyo related it to Nakuru. But as for Sakura, she just stared at the ceiling as though fascinated by it.

"Sorry about that, Kinomoto-san," Syaoran said when Nakuru went to the kitchen, "but we had to tell her the truth."

"Yeah," Eriol said sympathetically, "In fact, I think she could help you."

"And she promised to keep it a secret, don't worry," Tomoyo smiled reassuringly. "It'll be fine."

"But she knows my brother's hideout; she might tell him what's going on with me—" Sakura blurted out. She realized she shouldn't have said that.

"You mean, Touya Kinomoto?" Tomoyo's eyes widened.

"Yo, pips, early dinner's ready!"

Nakuru did all the talking throughout dinner.

"Well, Eriol, how's school?"

"Fine…"

"Gee, I guess I have to ask Sakura myself. So, how's he doing in school? Just tell me the goofy things he usually does at school…"

Sakura seemed to have forgotten what happened a while ago. "Uhmm… He just signs lots of autographs like Li-kun… The Eriol Fan Club kept asking him to sign their shoes and notebooks and stuff but he refuses…"

"How's your relationship with Eriol, Tomoyo-chan?"

"Nice and smooth, I guess… We're still trying to _adapt to our new surroundings_ since the members of his fan club are all jealous and they kept on whispering whenever we're near."

"Oh, don't mind them. They're just a bunch of bigheads. How about you, Syaoran? How's your adoptive mom?"

Sakura, Tomoyo, and Eriol turned to Syaoran, who was looking at Nakuru.

"How did you know _Gertrude_?"

"Oh, nothing… But please _tell me if there's something suspicious about her._"

"I don't understand, but okay…"

Dinner finished at exactly 6:10 p.m...

"Sakura, come here…"

"What is it, Nakuru-san?"

"Be careful, okay? Well, Syaoran looks kind, but _be careful._ Apply in your life everything you've learned from _your private lessons._"

"I guess Touya told you about it… But anyway, what about Syaoran? He's my best friend, and we trust each other even if we usually argue…"

"I suppose you're right. Sorry to tell you this, but I have to tell Touya everything that's going on with you. He'll be worried. He follows your trail most of the time though, but don't keep on looking for him around you. We don't want people to know his secrets."

Sakura nodded.

"Visit us again some other time, okay? _Oi, Eriol, why don't you walk Tomoyo home?_"

"Err…"

"Go on!" Nakuru whacked Eriol's back. "Take care, all of you!"

**-0-**

"I guess we have to go separately now…" said Eriol. " We're going here to the left since Tomoyo lives here in Blackwind Street. You know where to go, right, Syaoran? Be careful, Bluebell Street is dangerous this time of the night."

"Yeah…" Syaoran and Sakura soon stalked off, going to the right.

"Li-kun…"

"What?"

"I just want to ask you if…"

"What?"

"Are you a dangerous person?"

"What kind of idiotic question is that? If I were a dangerous person, I could have killed you a long time ago."

"Well… I guess you're right."

"It looks like you no longer trust me…"

"I still trust you, dummy, now never mind…"

Silence. They can hear the rustling of the leaves, and the cold wind blowing. Bluebell Street sure is a very quiet street.

"Kinomoto-san…"

"Yeah?"

"Do you…"

"Yeah?"

"Do you believe in what Nakuru had said about the hate and love thing?"

It was another quiet moment.

"I… I don't know."

"Well, uh… How's your love calendar, then? I brought mine with me, and it's here in my bag. I actually have no idea what to write for my third day…"

"Mine's okay. It's also here with me," Sakura looked at her bag. "I guess I can show you what I've written yesterday for my third day…"

"Thanks. I'd appreciate that."

It was another round of silence.

"Anyway, when we get to our house,_ if you can call that mine, that is,_ make sure you Yukon and Sherri doesn't see you. They actually don't like the idea of seeing me hanging around with boys."

"I don't think I want to ask why."

"Right, Li-kun. Just drop it."

"But what if they see me?"

"Don't think that way, all right, or they'll _really_ see you."

"You don't know what could happen—"

"All right. _Just stick to everything I say._"

"What did you say?"

"You aren't deaf, are you?"

**-0-**

"Why did you say that?" cried Yukon. "You're so dramatic, honey. You're not yet going to die, my beloved wife… Oh dear…"

"You remind me of a gay friend, you know," Sherri grinned. "But of course, things must come to an end, too. I hope Sakura will find out sooner or later, 'coz we can't possibly tell her."

"That reminds me," Yukon said suddenly, "It's already six-thirty! Why hasn't Sakura come home yet? Where is she?"

"Don't worry, I'm sure she's okay," Sherri said. "I guess I can allow her to hang out with men already. I don't want to be too strict to her. She studies in a school where girls and boys mix anyway. And I won't get angry with her."

"_Madam's son_ studies there, too!"

"We don't know yet if that boy's dangerous or not," Sherri said crisply. "But I prefer it if Sakura is friends with the boy, since they're about the same age anyway, as Madam had told us. Sakura is tough and she knows who she should make friends with. Hmm… I have a feeling… Just wait here, dear…"

**-0-**

_'Day 3 – Tomoyo went to our house just to give me this calendar she made, and she even invited Li to our house. I didn't have any choice; I need to catch up with top students of the batch like him and Eriol. I was forced to tell Sherri a white lie about the male voice she heard since she doesn't like the idea of seeing me with a guy.'_

"Ooh," Syaoran said, "I can hardly believe she put up this rule. But can't she even remember me? I've been to your house once, right? Hmm… Maybe she's just trying to protect you from something."

"So does that mean you're putting up with her? How could you?" Sakura hissed.

"Never mind," Syaoran just gave Sakura's calendar back to her. "Thanks. Now I have an idea of what to write in my—"

"Uh, we're here," Sakura whispered. She was about to touch the doorknob when the door flew open in front of their surprised faces.

"Come in," Sherri said immediately. She was smiling. This made Sakura wonder.

They all sat down on the sofa. Yukon just smiled at them.

"Hello," he said.

"Good evening, sir, ma'am," Syaoran greeted.

"Uh, Sherri, Yukon, this is Li Syaoran, my… boyfriend," Sakura said hastily. Syaoran gaped at her, trying not to be obvious that this was only a joke.

"Uh, yes, I-I am her boyfriend," Syaoran felt stupid when those words came out of his mouth.

Sherri and Yukon looked at the two and gasped.

"What? You don't like him?" Sakura said anxiously.

"So, you're Li Syaoran…" said Sherri slowly.

"What?" Sakura repeated.

"Oh, sorry, dear," Sherri just smiled again.

"Maybe you could tell us how it became you…" Yukon suggested. Sakura frowned slightly.

"Look, we've just been to our friend Eriol's house," she breathed. "And I think both of us would want to rest already—"

"Don't you have any homework to do?" Yukon asked. Sakura shook her head.

"Have you had dinner already?" Sherri said. Sakura nodded this time.

"I'm fine, and so is _him_. All right, I'm going to bed."

"It's far too early, y'know—" Syaoran whispered.

Sakura stepped on Syaoran's foot when Sherri and Yukon weren't looking. "Get out now."

Syaoran, still moaning because of his sore foot, walked towards the door and pulled it open, and then he went out.

"There," said Sakura, "I guess you'll get to know him some other time."

"Oh, no need," Sherri just smiled. "Go ahead my dear, and have enough sleep."

Sakura went upstairs to her room. She was surprised by her guardians' actions today.

_'Why are they acting so strange?'_

_'I just can't believe it. Another thing…'_

_'They seem to be hiding something from me.'_

_'And so does Nakuru.'_

She sat down on her bed and turned off the light. "Why am I living in a world of mysteries?" she whispered to herself.

"At least Touya's still alive," she hugged her pillow. "But when will he show up in front of me? I want to see him face-to-face."

Just then, Nakuru's words floated in her mind and made her close her eyes, making her sleep.

_'I know someday you will find the answers to your questions.'_

But the question right now in Sakura's mind is…

_"When is someday?"_

**AUTHOR'S NOTES with darkshadow36:**

End of another confusing chap.

I might not be able to update the next chap for a long time, though. Sorry for such inconvenience.

Another—**the setting of this story is not in ****USA****Philippines****, or anywhere in the world**. Places I mentioned are only created by my mind, and they could just be coincidence.

Thanks and I'm looking forward to your reviews. Ja ne!


	7. Things That Last Forever

**AUTHOR'S NOTES with darkshadow36:**

Sorry if I wasn't able to update for months already. It's hard to come up with something new… And my schoolwork occupies most of my schedule.

**_SPECIAL THANKS TO: _****ALL OF YOU! Sorry, I can't do special mention now, I'm really busy…**

**BACK TO darkshadow36:** Now go ahead and read, I wouldn't want to waste your time.

**_: MAIN CHARACTERS:_**

**Li Syaoran** – clueless of what's _behind_ him  
**Sakura Kinomoto** – darkened over her dark past  
**Tomoyo Daidouji** – optimistic and willing to help  
**Eriol Hiiragizawa** – has his hidden talents

**_: SUMMARY FOR CHAPTER 7:_** Sakura learns another truth… This time from Ms. Yano! And, due to the bomb threat that day, the students had to be dismissed early and Sakura and the gang will go to Tomoyo's house this time. And this visit will result to one of the hardest things to do if you're a parent – babysitting!

**(UPDATED: ****September 24, 2005****) Chapter 7: Things That Last Forever**

**-0-**

**_Day 5_**

"Lunch break!" Sakura smiled gleefully as she and Tomoyo headed for the cafeteria. Sakura patted her stomach and looked expectantly at the food stalls. _'Wonder what I could have for today…'_ she thought.

"Break time sure is your favorite subject," Tomoyo chuckled. Sakura nodded at this. Break times last for an hour at their school. This is one of the easiest subjects in Redstone.

Soon, Sakura went off to buy her lunch. Tomoyo picked a vacant table and sat down on a chair and waited for Sakura before she eats.

She opened her bag and brought out her lunch. _'Mom sure is good enough to prepare me one of my favorite Italian dishes for lunch…' _she sighed.

But before she started eating, she was thinking of something. It was about the way Sakura acted around Syaoran these days and it seemed to bother her a lot. She was thinking of talking to Eriol about this one.

_"Oi, Daidouji!"_

Tomoyo didn't turn around She recognized the voice fully. She felt her tension rising. She was supposed to wait for Sakura before she eat her lunch, but she soon began eating in small bites as to make an excuse not to talk to—

"Honshu," she whispered in anger. She ate in a dawdling manner. She pretended not to have heard her but she can hear her approaching her table all the same. Yumina Honshu sat down opposite Tomoyo and faced her. They looked at each other in the eye and both eyes flashed dangerously.

"What are you doing here?" Tomoyo said coldly. "Haven't you learned your lesson yet?"

"Ooh, look who's talking," Yumina said sleekly. "So, how's life with a _superstar_?"

"That's certainly none of your business," Tomoyo yawned and didn't bother to look up. She kept on eating.

Yumina continued to smile smugly. "Well, if it seems difficult, _I_ can make it easy for you…"

"So, you mean to say you will flirt with Eriol-kun and all that?" Sakura came and then put down her lunch on the table gently and banged a strong hand on the table, enough to catch the attention of the students around them. She approached Yumina who suddenly trembled slightly with fear. However, Yumina continued to put up with that sneering face even _you_ wouldn't like.

"Kinomoto the _lesbian_ to the rescue," she said. "It's so sweet of you to come here!"

Tomoyo went red. _'Grr…'_

Sakura winced a little when she mentioned the word _'lesbian'_. It brought her back the memories of _that_ incident… Where it all started…

"Shut up or I'll cut off your tongue and make you swear that _you.wish.you.were.never.born.with.a.tongue_!" Sakura said quite threateningly.

"All right," Yumina stood up, "I guess you can make it easier for me too, Kinomoto," she looked at her maliciously. "Why don't ya court Tomoyo since you're a tomboy so that Eriol can be mine? Anyway, lesbians go for girls, not boys. Oh, and… Keep your filthy hands off Syaoran too. That was from Karen."

Sakura looked at her quietly. "Maybe I would like that," she said sarcastically. "Hmm… I wouldn't mind Li at all. Anyway, better Tomoyo than you, y'know… She's got the looks, you, you don't even have _the slightest amount of elegance_…" She said hastily. "Offending, isn't it, _popkid_?"

"Settle down, Kinomoto and put your anger aside for now. To my office, Miss Honshu, and I mean _now_. I don't care if you've eaten lunch already or not. This monkey business of yours will be heading for a…" It stopped there.

It was Ms. Yano. Then she smiled at Sakura. "We'll talk later after dismissal."

"What?" Sakura seemed confused.

"_You aren't deaf, are you?_" she winked.

**-0-**

"Even Yano-sensei acts strange sometimes," Sakura said as she watched Ms. Yano and Honshu go.

Tomoyo looked at her and ate a large bite this time. "Thanks anyway for saving my neck a while ago. So, what do you mean by that?"

"Well, her last words to me a while ago seemed familiar…" Sakura replied, turning to her lunch and began eating.

"What—you mean some sort of _déjà vu_?"

"Not really, I guess," said Sakura.

Tomoyo shrugged. "Anyway, I've noticed something strange about her too…"

"Nani?"

"She keeps an eye on you most of the time," she said. Sakura nodded slowly.

"I suppose she's just worried about me. I told her about my past since when I first met her here; I feel comfortable around her."

"It seems like you have a strong bond," smiled Tomoyo. "But I surely have never heard of a _principal-and-student bond_."

"I think so…" Sakura's emerald-green eyes shone brightly. "Whenever I'm with her, she reminds me of my brother's girlfriend _Kaho Mizuki_. They looked exactly alike in many ways—their voices, their eyes, and they're both approachable… But the only difference is that Kaho is a very gentle woman and she never gets easily angry like Yano-sensei." She chuckled.

"Speaking of your brother," Tomoyo bit her lip, "you mentioned him to us yesterday. What was that all about? And what were you and Nakuru doing while the three of us were watching TV?"

"Hush," Sakura put a finger to her lips, signaling her to keep down her voice. "Well, Tomoyo-chan, it's secret, actually. As they say, _life is full of mysteries_…"

Tomoyo looked at her and waited. "Go on please…"

"And I'm one of those who live in _giant jigsaw puzzles_," Sakura continued, still in that whispering voice. "I'll tell you the truth someday, Tomoyo-chan. Who knows—it might be anytime by now."

"But why not _now_?" asked Tomoyo.

"Because," said Sakura. "Because," she repeated. She gave a sheepish smile.

"What?"

"It's because I'm not yet ready," she finished. "But that's a promise, really… I won't turn sixteen unless I tell you about my past… 'Coz I know it'll be unfair for your part."

Tomoyo seemed convinced. "All right, but will you tell Syaoran-kun and Eriol-kun?"

Sakura hadn't even thought of this. She was confused with herself. Her mind was swirling with lots of thoughts, whether tragic or happy. The thirst for more truth is still burning inside her still since yesterday, and she couldn't help but get exaggerated in her actions and feel giddy these past few days.

A few seconds later, she nodded slowly. "I suppose I should tell them." She said quickly. "Err… Could we talk about this another time? I really don't feel comfortable with this topic…"

"Very well," Tomoyo said sympathetically. "Oh, that reminds me…" She opened her bag and pulled a crumpled piece of paper.

"Not another piece of your calendar," groaned Sakura. Tomoyo shook her head, beaming.

"No, it's not that," she unfolded the paper, "in this paper are the _rules_. Your rules with Syaoran… You know what I mean, don't you?"

"Of course I do. So what's that thing? You can just deliver that straight into the trash bin since _crumpled paper containing rules_ is no use."

"For you, but not for reality, that is. Getting straight to the point—Nakuru actually wants to implement these rules for both of you. She makes it her goal to make you two be… _together_."

Sakura pretended to throw up. "Geez, do Li-kun and I really have to follow the rules?"

"I'm afraid you have to, even if it's in your own free will if you want to do it or not," said Tomoyo. "Nakuru will make sure you follow all these three rules. She'll be guiding you _every step of the way_… Uh, that's what she said." She added quickly when Sakura raised an eyebrow.

"Read the rules, will you?" Sakura said, uninterested._ 'This is getting serious…'_

"Rule number one," Tomoyo whispered to her so that others won't get suspicious, "Avoid fighting especially in public."

"Now that's what I call _pathetic_," Sakura mumbled.

"Rule number two, _call each other sweet names_. You go act like a real couple—boyfriend and girlfriend."

"Now that's a _maniac's act_."

"Lastly, rule number three… Use _PDA_ most of the time…"

"Now that's what I call _madness_!" Sakura hissed. "Public Display of Affection, isn't it?"

"Nope," grinned Tomoyo, "for Nakuru, it's gonna be _Public Declare of Affection_."

Sakura put up a screwed face. "But I think that's the same."

"Yeah, I thought so too, but Nakuru explained the _real_ thing to me… That means you must _declare_ that it's already you two whenever you meet a known friend or schoolmate or whatever along the road, as long as you know the person!"

"I guess that wouldn't hurt," Sakura said bitterly.

"Just three rules, but _very_ meaningful," Tomoyo remarked. "Nakuru crumpled this paper herself this morning and gave it to Eriol and me… But Eriol gave the paper to me instead."

"Why did she crumple it? She must realize this is just trash," snapped Sakura.

"She didn't tell us why," said Tomoyo. "The only thing that matters is that you and Syaoran both know the rules. Perhaps Eriol-kun has already told Syaoran-kun about it…"

"But he doesn't have a copy of that…"

Tomoyo laughed. "Oh, it's _in his mind_… Don't worry…"

**-0-**

The short meeting of the Redstone basketball team actually finished three hours than expected. The boys groaned and went back to the boys' locker room to dress back themselves into their regular school clothes.

"Eep," Yamazaki held up a dead white rat. The boys laughed. "I didn't know my Chiharu put this in a plastic and into my bag… Grr, that girl—I'm gonna get her back for this! Why are you laughing? There's nothing funny about it, guys! Unless you want me to put this under your noses! You want a taste of this dead rat, Morisato? You want it too, Hanako?" He started chasing his co-players, who ran around the room.

Only two boys didn't join in the laughing.

"There," Eriol smiled in satisfaction, "Those are the rules. She's warning you—_no violating_."

"I wonder what Kinomoto says about it," Syaoran put on his favorite cap. "I can imagine her going nuts."

Eriol laughed softly. "I assume it'll be more than that."

"All the same," Syaoran babbled on, "I think I'm giving up—"

"Another thing," Eriol added, "Nakuru says NO QUITTING."

Syaoran thought things will never be the same again. He clenched his fists tightly and sighed deeply. "Now Kinomoto will tell me I'm an idiot… One of the _purest_ ever born…"

"Eh?" Eriol looked at him, puzzled. "Why is that?"

"Look,_ if it weren't for me_, we would still be friends today like the good ol' days," Syaoran explained. "_If it weren't_ _for me and my stupid idea_, we would still be friends. _If it weren't for me and my big mouth_, Nakuru's mind wouldn't be filled with these _horrible_ ideas. _If it weren't for ME_, all these wouldn't happen. After all, we only did this couple thing to see if we could make you and Tomoyo jealous…"

"I guess you really are an idiot," Eriol grinned and shrugged at the same time. "But think about it, dude… They say experience is the best teacher. I'm sure you'll learn something new. Now try to keep it cool, man. You don't have to blame yourself. In fact, I think this will turn out successful."

Syaoran exhaled deeply. "Maybe," he said. "But I don't want to fall for Kinomoto. She used to be my best friend. What's more, _she's a tomboy_."

"Stop saying that, will you?" Eriol hissed. "If Sakura hears you saying that, she'll beat you up. Besides, she's not really a _complete lesbian_. She just acts like one, and Yano knows that. Lesbians get kicked out of the school immediately, you know. Have you forgotten?"

Syaoran turned pink. "Sorry, then," he just said simply as he zipped his bag. He turned to go.

"Syaoran, wait for me! Why are you always doing this to me whenever we have basketball practices and meetings?" Eriol stood up and carried along with him his unzipped bag.

**-0-**

Classes were cut short. That was 2:30 in the afternoon. Students got out of their classrooms in enthusiasm.

_What the hell is the reason then?_

"Holy cow," Sakura swung her bag over her shoulder as she went down with Tomoyo, "did someone really plant a bomb behind the school grounds? Now that's creepy. It seems so sudden."

"Yeah," agreed Tomoyo. "And to think it was Gym class that time for us… What was your subject when you heard Miss Yano's voice from the megaphone?"

"Changed subject," Sakura replied. "It was Physics."

"What? You mean to say it switched time schedule with Grammar?"

She nodded vigorously. "Hey, I forgot… Miss Yano told me that she and I have to talk. I do hope it won't be long though. Well… See you later!"

"But Sakura—"

But Sakura has already gone.

Tomoyo went directly to the phone booth. She dialed the number of her mother quickly.

"Hello? Uhmm, ma, it's me, Tomoyo. Classes had been cut short because of a bomb threat. _What? I don't want to do that!_ Well… Let me see… Oh… I know the very person, or _two people rather_, who will be _up for the job_. Don't worry, ma, I know they can do it! _Baby Bink will be safe with them!_ Anyways, I still have to go marketing and shopping, don't I? Okay, okay, ma, I love you too. Take care! Good-bye!"

She put down the phone. She grinned to herself. "Prepare to meet your _doom_!" A picture of Syaoran and Sakura together alone in her house floated in her mind.

**-0-**

"Uhh… Yano-sensei?" Sakura closed the door gently behind her as she entered the principal's office. She suddenly noticed something strange. For the first time, the room did not smell of cabbage. This time, however, it smelled strongly of sweet potatoes.

"Starting on a new room scent?" Sakura said sardonically as she sat down on the chair near Ms. Yano's table. Ms. Yano laughed.

"Maybe, my dear," she spoke.

"You know, Yano-sensei…" Sakura gulped, "Your voice… seems different. I've never heard you speak in that voice. You… You remind me of someone from my past!"

Ms. Yano pursed her lips for a moment. "Go on, Sakura, my little sweetie…"

_Sakura my little sweetie?_ Sakura wondered. Someone used to call her by that phrase a long time ago… Since she was a kid…

Sakura felt quite numb. She was speechless.

"Why are you like that?" Sakura wrenched off her arm away from Ms. Yano who was holding it gently. "We may be close, but you have no right to treat me like your own or something! And only _Kaho Mizuki_ calls me by that!"

"Kaho Mizuki…" Ms. Yano smiled. "But Sakura, _I am Kaho_… I've wanted to tell you this for a long time."

Sakura looked at her doubtfully, taken by surprise. "I shouldn't have gone here. What a waste of time," she turned to go. She froze when she reached the door because she suddenly heard Ms. Yano's voice behind her. She looked.

Ms. Yano had just taken off her raven-colored wig. There stood a woman with red-colored hair, beautiful and flowing.

"Haven't you ever wondered why I keep an eye on you most of the time? Haven't you ever noticed the way I look at you and the way I talk to you? Has the thought of why I never wanted to put you in detention at all crossed your mind?" Ms. Yano looked at her earnestly. Sakura's eyes were wide. "It's because I understand you very well… _And did you ever give a damn if Kaho Mizuki was still alive? _Yes, I was with your brother at your house when the fire appeared… But we were able to escape.

"And now I… _Kaho Mizuki_… is standing here right in front of you, as principal of Redstone and as your close friend… is acting on your brother's orders."

**-0-**

"Yes, it's me, Gertrude," Syaoran breathed as he looked at the minutes left for his call. It says only 20 seconds left. "Classes have been cut short—" He was interrupted by the woman's babbling. "Whatever, oh, I will be at my friend's house, that means I'll be back home by five… I dunno… _Oh, shut up, will ya? _I need to put the phone down already—"

End of call.

"That woman always babbles," Syaoran groaned. "No wonder Nakuru knows her; their mouths precede them."

Eriol merely shrugged, but he just grinned. A few seconds later, he pulled out his cellular phone from his bag and called someone. "I wonder what the girls are doing right now."

"Not Tomoyo again," Syaoran mumbled. There was still a part in him that says he was jealous and was longing to call for his loved one too one of these days. But the fact still remains that he still doesn't have that special someone. This thought made him frown slightly and shake his head stubbornly.

"Syaoran? What in the world is wrong with you? Why are you shaking your head?" Eriol waved a hand in front of Syaoran's face. Syaoran went pink. Eriol laughed.

"C'mon, I know you want to share something with your Uncle Eriol…" he smirked. Syaoran gave him a scowl.

"Come off it," he said. "Unless you want me to—"

"You know, I think you need to get yourself a girlfriend too…" Eriol said humbly but there was a tone of seriousness in his voice.

"I don't think having myself a girlfriend isn't that necessary," Syaoran said. He tried to keep his face straight. "After all, what's a relationship if you'll get bored with it afterwards? When I come to think of it, sometimes, I wonder how couples like you and Tomoyo get to keep a strong relationship…"

"Why not try Sakura-chan?" Eriol suggested, but when he saw the dangerous look in Syaoran's eyes, he gulped and said jokingly, "I was only kidding, I know you're good friends, but isn't it worth trying? After all, love is rooted from friendship…"

"I won't be surprised if you fall for Sakura," a sweet voice said behind them. Tomoyo walked up behind them and walked in circles. "She's beautiful inside and out. She's not literally a tomboy, isn't she? I really felt sorry for her when she told me the story behind that… I saw how strong she actually is since her parents' death." She stopped walking and looked intently at Syaoran. "If I were you, I would immediately take the opportunity to get to know her. I admit she may be grouchy at times, but she's extremely a natural…" She grinned.

"Yeah, I think of her that way too," Eriol nodded. "She's one mysterious dude, though… She wouldn't want to speak to us about herself or what…"

"She told me that she'll tell us everything someday," said Tomoyo. "Just a while ago when Honshu bullied me…"

"What the hell did Honshu did to you?" Eriol's eyes blazed with anger.

"I'll just tell you later…"

Syaoran was quiet all this time. His gaze silently drifted off above the blue skies.

"Yeah… There's always a _someday_…" he mumbled. "Speaking of Kinomoto, where is she anyway?"

"She's in Miss Yano's office—"

"Where is that?" Syaoran said thoughtlessly. Obviously he hadn't heard what Tomoyo had just said.

**-0-**

"To tell you the truth, I certainly wouldn't believed such piece of—"

"Crap, you say?" Ms. Yano finished for her. But there wasn't any trace of anger marked on her serene face. "But it's true. Ask me anything, if you know what I mean."

"All right," Sakura had been expecting those words to come out from this woman. "I want to believe that you are Kaho… But sometimes I…" She paused for a moment. "This is just impossible! Who knows if you're just an impostor or Kaho's twin or something—?"

Ms. Yano held up a hand. "You know very well that I don't have a twin," she laughed softly. "Just go on with your questions, please."

"What if you're actually a long lost twin—" Sakura stopped. She looked at her watch. It says 3:05 p.m.

"Can we just talk about this another time, Yano-sensei?" she said hastily. "My friends are waiting for me and—"

"I'm sure they could wait," Ms. Yano said tersely. "The heartthrobs and Ms. Daidouji surely won't mind if this is just one favor I could ask of them."

"All right, but I won't be long," Sakura then thought of a question. Then she asked immediately the first question that popped in her mind, "if you really are Kaho, you know what my least favorite food is. What is it?"

"Hmm… very easy," Ms. Yano laughed again in that soft tone. "You have always detested green pepper. You wouldn't like me to cook food with that."

Sakura's face screwed up, still not convinced. "How long have you and Touya been together until now?"

"We'll already be eight years in the 1st of next month."

"What was the naughtiest thing I did to Touya when I was 6?"

"You put a frog on his bag the night before his field trip the next day. Touya told me that; it was actually one of his most unforgettable moments."

Sakura gulped, running out of ideas. She may know a lot, but if she's not able to answer this last one, she's dead. "Last one—how many pocketbooks can I read in a day when I was 7?"

Ms. Yano grinned. "Now that's the easiest," she said. "It takes you a week to finish a single pocketbook. You usually read the first four chapters of a book. Sometimes, you'd let me read it and then you'll want me to summarize the story for you."

Sakura did not stop herself. She dropped her bag, ran to Ms. Yano and hugged her while crying. "Kaho… It's really you!"

"Don't cry now," Ms. Yano, _or let's just say Kaho, _said soothingly. "I assume you already knew your brother's still alive?"

"Yeah, I do… Nakuru told me," Sakura wiped her tears. She hasn't cried like this for a long time. "So… If Nakuru couldn't tell me the truth, maybe you could—"

"I can't, as of now, either…" Kaho sighed. Then she looked at Sakura again. "I think you should get going now. Tomorrow again, Sakura, _my little sweetie_… Don't be afraid to approach me anytime you want."

"Thanks," Sakura picked up her bag and went out the room without another word. She felt absurd, yet happy. She set off for the waiting area, can't stop thinking about what had just happened to her.

Syaoran's voice was the first to greet her. "Our ickle Sakura looked like she's been crying!" he said in a rather teasing voice. Surprisingly, instead of retorting back…

"Oh, Li-kun!" she flung her arms around him. This surprised Eriol and Tomoyo, who were both holding hands.

"The world has suddenly gone upside down," Tomoyo nodded slowly. "What happened to you, Sakura-chan? Did anyone hurt you or something? C'mon, tell us!"

"And we're gonna punch them for you!" Eriol added, feeling rather weird for no reason.

"No need…" This time, Sakura wasn't able to prevent her tears from flowing down her sparkling emerald green eyes. Syaoran, puzzled, just patted her gently on the back.

"Stop acting like a little child, Kinomoto," he said, not sure if this was the right thing to say. Sakura, however, didn't mind.

Tomoyo looked at Sakura with her bright amethyst purple eyes intently. "Hmm… Let's do a bit of investigation. Yano-sensei must have told you something—"

"You've been at her office all this time?" Syaoran said incredulously. "You were there while we were waiting for you?"

"I've been telling you a while ago that but you won't even listen to me," Tomoyo said through gritted teeth. Syaoran went pink and he just smiled sheepishly.

"Sakura-chan," Eriol said, "why not tell us instead--?"

Sakura beamed at him. "Once we get to Tomoyo's car, I'll tell the whole story."

"Okay, then, that's settled," said Tomoyo, nodding. "Oh, there's my fetcher, guys! Come on—"

The three's mouths hang open when they got out of the school. A tall and slender woman with long brown hair stood in front of them. Her taut breasts were quite attracting attention of some men who passed by.

"Let's get going, shall we?" Tomoyo said in a menacing voice. "My guards are not really used to publicity, especially _Emery_… She was the only available guard left to fetch me…"

The four of them hopped on the back seats of the black shiny limo.

"Yano-sensei told me at first that she was Kaho, but I didn't believe it," Sakura still had that smile on her face. "All this time I've wanted to hear that from her, but during that situation…"

"Just get straight to the point, will ya, sweetie?" Syaoran yawned. Tomoyo stepped on his right feet.

"Show respect,_ will ya?_" she said.

Sakura continued, "To prove that she really was Kaho, she told me to ask her questions. And so I asked her… That was more than three questions, I think… Yes, and I proved in the end that she really was my brother's girlfriend!"

"Nice story," Eriol clapped his hands, smiling. "I must say, life is full of mysteries…"

"Yes, of course," said Tomoyo, "no one knows what's going to happen next."

"Miss Tomoyo, we're here," Emery opened the door for them. The four got down and thanked her.

Tomoyo's mansion was big. The three had been to her house lots of times before, when Tomoyo first arrived in town and all that. There were lots of rooms enough for five people or more.

Sonomi Daidouji, Tomoyo's mom, was not at home, and so only the four of them and the other maids and Tomoyo's butler are busy in the mansion.

"Uhmm… May you excuse us both for a moment?" Tomoyo told Syaoran and Sakura who were both laughing like maniacs. They were watching TV. Eriol held Tomoyo's hand and went to hide in a corner when the two nodded.

"What's up?" Eriol asked her. They looked at each other for a moment. Tomoyo forgot what she has to tell him. Instead, she found herself blushing when they both realized their faces were an inch closer to each other.

"Uh… Sorry," Eriol quickly apologized. But to admit it, Eriol actually wanted to kiss her again just like the last time.

"Oh yes, I remember now!" Tomoyo exclaimed in a whisper.

Eriol's face screwed up. "Why are you whispering?" he said in a quite loud voice. Tomoyo held up a finger to her lips.

"Be quiet; I don't want those two lovebirds to hear us…"

"Hate-love birds," Eriol sniggered. Tomoyo laughed loudly, but Syaoran and Sakura, who were still laughing, didn't seem to hear her.

"I have a plan to get the both of them… act more like a sweet couple," Tomoyo said quite excitedly. "Now ask me what the plan is."

"Err… What is the plan then? What have you got in your mind?"

"I called my mom a while ago. She told me that I'll be _babysitting _her friend's baby girl, Yuma, but I call her Bink for no particular reason. She told me to look after her while they go out on some sort of group date or whatever… Bink is five years old … And I think she's a smart girl at her young age. Once, I was with a friend of mine, his name's Dandy. Oh, don't be jealous—" she smiled when she saw Eriol's mouth open. She continued, "We're just friends, besides, he has a girlfriend already during that time…

"We were in the park, with a four-year old Bink. I'm afraid she's been deprived of fatherly love since she lost her father when she was two. She thought Dandy and I are—you know, girlfriend-boyfriend, and so you know what she did? She tugged our shirts and tried to make us get closer to each other. I guess she gets to watch those romance movies her mom watches. Her mom doesn't feel good lately."

Eriol held his breath for a few seconds and said, "I think I know where this is going…"

Tomoyo chuckled heartily. "Yup, they'll both be babysitting Yuma whether they like it or not… And the same thing might happen to them. And both of us will go out for shopping. I told my butler and our maids about this plan, and I actually told them that the two have been going out."

Eriol looked at her in disbelief. "You're pulling my leg, aren't you?" he said quite nervously. His girlfriend shook her head lightly.

"Oh, they'll be fine," she said simply. "I know what I'm doing."

"Whatever you say," Eriol just shrugged. "I'll just be in your garden for a minute, okay?" And then surprisingly he kissed Tomoyo on the cheek and he went immediately outside. He was red on the face, and so was Tomoyo.

Soon, Tomoyo stepped out from the corner and approached the two who were both still laughing their heads out.

"Hey, Syaoran-kun, Sakura-chan," Tomoyo put a hand on the sofa. "I have a favor to ask from both of you…"

"What is it?" Sakura clutched her stomach after having said those words; she was laughing yet again.

"Do you mind if you take care of Yuma, a five-year old little girl? She's the daughter of my mom's friend. People around the house are busy, and Eriol and I will go out for shopping. Is it okay with you two?" She said innocently, but there was this dancing glint in her eyes.

"Yah, sure… Where is the kid then?"

**-0-**

"I wonder how they're doing with her…" Tomoyo kept on chuckling to herself while she was shopping for some things with Eriol.

"Try calling one of your maids then," he said.

"Good idea," smiled Tomoyo, "but I'm just gonna call my butler instead."

But when she was about to dial the number on her cellular phone, someone snatched the things she shopped for from her left hand.

"Oi, you moron—stop!" she yelled. She seemed to have lost hope. "Those things I've shopped for were worth all the money I have for today…"

That was when she noticed Eriol wasn't beside her.

"Someone has just stolen the things I've shopped for just for mom, and now it's Eriol!"

But soon, tears fell down from her amethyst eyes. She doesn't know why, she was confused, and here she is standing alone, thoughts whirling madly inside her head—

_"Eriol Hiiragizawa, where are you?"_ she lowered her head, gripping her cell phone tightly.

**-0-**

Yuma looked at the two people sitting on either side of her. "Ooohh… They… look… cute… together!" she said loudly with a pouting face.

The two looked at her.

"But there are no couples in this TV show we're watching, Yuma; it's about humor and having a laugh—" Syaoran said gently.

"I meant you, sir—and this lovely lady here," Yuma's big eyes returned to the big TV screen. "Are you… going out?"

The two blushed.

"Absolutely not!" they said in unison. They blushed again and avoided each other's gazes.

_"Those two are impossible!"_ Sakura had been repeating these words while she was watching TV. She looked at the little red-haired girl beside Syaoran… beside her too, which means the Yuma is sitting between them.

"Huh?" the little girl's big blue green eyes blinked twice at Sakura. Sakura shook her head, smiling.

"Gee, I like… ice cream," Yuma jumped off from the sofa and pulled Sakura's shirt. "You want one too? Auntie Tomoyo told me I could eat anything I want from their fridge."

"Ahh… Sure, but please don't pull my shirt—" Sakura tried to pull as gently as she can as not to put force on the kid, but Yuma seemed to have a good grip.

"Oh, Yuma, now don't pull it—keep yourself still—" Syaoran tried stopping her, but he ended up being pulled by her too.

_'Thanks for saving my neck, you moron, now she has both of us together,'_ Sakura frowned slightly.

Yuma got herself a cupful of ice cream.

"No, don't get! Don't get!" Yuma said quite loudly when Sakura was about to get herself a cup. "I can't eat this—" she was pointing at the cup of cookies n' cream-flavored ice cream set in front of her. "—by myself! Ahh… Get spoon! Get spoon! One only!"

Sakura thought Yuma only wanted the ice cream to herself but it was fine with her, so she went to get a spoon for her. They went back to the living room and the two sat again on either side of Yuma. Sakura looked at Yuma and saw she already has a spoon with her, and she was eating already. When Yuma saw the spoon at Sakura's hand, she snatched it from her and gave it to Syaoran.

"Bite, sir," she offered. Syaoran hesitated at first, but he can't possibly ignore this kid.

"I've just brushed my teeth…" Syaoran hesitated, but then he didn't want to disappoint the kid. So then he took a bite, smiling. His eyes went back to watching TV.

Sakura still has her eyes on the TV, but her mind seems to be drifting off. She shook suddenly when she saw a spoonful of ice cream in front of her. It was Yuma holding the spoon. She was about to take a bite when she realized…

_'This spoon was the one Li ate on…'_

_'Who knows I might get typhoid fever? Bleah…'_

_'Uhh… That means if I ate the ice cream, it's like I've just kissed him or what!'_

_'This kid seems to know what she is doing…'_

Sakura and Yuma's eyes met. Her eyes were filled with surprise, but the latter's eyes seemed to look eager.

"Uhmm, I hate to break it to you, kid, but I don't think I would want—" she started when Syaoran's voice interrupted her abruptly.

"Kinomoto-san, Yuma's just a kid, be kind—"

Sakura crossed her arms. "I can't believe you're so considerate towards—"

"Well, I believe kids are innocent, just like her, and it won't be good for her to see us fight like this—"

_"No fight… No fight!"_ Yuma suddenly burst into tears. She was crying loudly. Sakura's cheeks flushed.

"Stop crying, all right, Yuma? I… Er… I'll do _anything_, just don't cry! Please!" She looked at the crying kid quite desperately.

_'Now what in the bloody world are you thinking?'_ Syaoran thought.

Yuma's big eyes squinted. "Really?"

"Uhh… I suppose I can try being a considerate person today, after all, this day seems to be a wonderful one for me…" Sakura said, having thought of Kaho. "All righty, kid… What do you want me to do? Just make sure it won't take much of the time or whatsoever."

"I…" The kid played with her fingers and looked at Sakura shyly. She turned from her to Syaoran. "You want… easy… so I… well, maybe you could…"

Sakura held her breath._ 'You're just a kid, little girl…'_

_"Kiss… pretty boy… here."_ She gestured towards Syaoran, whose mouth fell in horror.

**-0-**

_"I'm here. Don't cry… Tomoyo-san."_

The girl felt a warm hand on her stiff shoulders. She spun around and immediately had the lad on a tight grip.

"Eriol-kun, don't you dare go walking away like that again, y'know!" Tomoyo sobbed a little, managing to laugh at the same time. Eriol returned her hug.

"Here you go… I managed to get it from the thief," he handed over to her the things they shopped for.

Tomoyo was dumbfounded, but amazed. "But… You shouldn't have done that… Well, yes, thank you, but still… Look, your arm has bruises—"

"Forget it, I don't mind them," Eriol said in a quite careless manner. "What's important now is that I was able to get your shopping from that thief and that I'm back here, safe and sound. The guards have him now, but whatever they're doing right now is definitely not our business."

"Okay," she simply shrugged. "Anyway, as I was saying a while ago, I want to know how the two are doing with Yuma…" She dialed the number fast on her phone.

_"Yes, hi, Kimitaka, it's me Tomoyo!"_ she said cheerfully. "I just wanted to know how Syaoran and Sakura are doing with Bink. I'm… worried."

"Hello, little miss—oh, I assure you, they're fine… But there's quite a problem…"

"What is it?" Tomoyo asked tensely. Eriol leaned a bit closer to her, looking quite surprised.

"The kid wants them to kiss," Kimitaka said quite hastily.

Tomoyo did an afterthought. "I don't know, but I guess they'll just have to do it. She's a spoiled brat, y'know. I'm quite sure Sakura-chan can handle such situation, even Syaoran-kun can, I hope… Uh, I s'pose you can just watch them out for us, and you'll know what to do if things go wrong. Thanks, take care and bye!" She smiled, her heart beating fast against her chest.

"I think we should leave now," Eriol suggested. He knew because Tomoyo's phone speaker was on, meaning he could hear the receiver.

**-0-**

Sakura froze and so did Syaoran.

"So I'm not the only one who thinks stupid here," Syaoran yawned. Sakura scowled at him.

But Syaoran kept his cool. "The kid will cry some more if we won't do it. We never expected this anyway—"

"So you're obviously telling me that _we_ should kiss," Sakura said shrewdly. Syaoran laughed.

"Maybe," he said sarcastically. Sakura blushed hotly, but she fought off the feeling.

"Just do it, sweetie, we have no choice, unless you want her to cry again." Syaoran said in an innocent tone, but Sakura thought of it as maniacal.

Sakura held her throat. "Hey, dude, not because you're a _popkid_, you can just push me around like that. Sorry, but I'm afraid I don't give in to coercion." She raised her left eyebrow. Syaoran laughed again.

"Let's just think we're in some sort of acting workshop or something with a serious play… Let's say, Romeo and Juliet or whatever," he shrugged. "Let me guess, my best friend… You never had your first kiss, right?" He sneered. "Redstone will be happy to hear that I'm your first kiss—"

"Are you being sarcastic or what?" Sakura felt her blood boil a little. She doesn't know why she was so angry with him. They are best friends after all and she won't feel _anything emotional_ about that kiss…

"All right," Sakura said finally, "I'm giving in. I swear I won't take this seriously."

"Ooh, let's see it," Syaoran was smiling kind-of smugly. But he was blushing the next second when Sakura's face went closer to his.

**-0-**

"Oh, c'mon, we're almost there," Tomoyo kept on saying in a quite desperate voice. She and Eriol were in a taxi, and were on their way to Tomoyo's house.

"Sir, please—over there at that big house," Eriol paid the driver immediately and he and Tomoyo got down from the taxi.

"It's open," Tomoyo breathed as she pushed the gate open with all her might. "Be careful, the gates are really heavy—especially since they're bulletproof."

Eriol helped her push, but then he thought he saw a hooded person by the window, but he didn't mind. "But, Tomoyo-san, why not ring the doorbell?"

"I don't want to spoil any moment," Tomoyo winked at him. They both laughed.

**-0-**

Their faces were now an inch close to the other.

_And a little bit closer._

_More closer_ until they can't see each other's faces.

_'Oh, c'mon, Kinomoto, are you a chicken?'_ Syaoran thought. _'I want to finish this already…'_

_And so…_

Syaoran did it. He immediately kissed her. Sakura's eyes widened. Without warning, they found their selves kissing for more than five seconds now or so.

And then the door flew open. The two immediately broke off. Yuma's smile reached heaven. Eriol and Tomoyo came in and they saw only a few seconds of the scene.

"Oh my… did I miss something? Sorry to interrupt," Tomoyo said a bit teasingly, looking at the two incredulously.

"But that kind of swept me off my feet, man," Eriol let out a sigh. "Did you do that on purpose?"

"Well, long story," Syaoran said hastily, his bright red cheeks visible under the rays of the sun that entered through the windows.

Sakura was blushing furiously too. "You wouldn't want to know it," she snapped. "I think I should go home now… I'm so tired…" She yawned sleepily.

"Syaoran-kun, why not walk her to her house?" Tomoyo suggested.

"There's been enough damage for today already," Sakura spoke up as she approached the door and pulled it open. "Never mind, I can go home myself. Thanks anyway. Good-bye." She walked off without another word.

**-0-**

On her way home, she can't help but touch her lips. "I can't deny the fact that he's a good kisser," she suddenly felt goose pimples. "I wonder how he felt about the kiss… Oh, it didn't have an effect on me, all right?" She kept on mumbling to herself.

On the other hand, Syaoran seems to feel the same way. He smacked his lips. "I didn't know my best friend was a good kisser!" He grinned. "How I wish I could see her expression right now… But… Hey there were no sparks or something like that!" He glided a hand through his hair, making it look messy.

"What sparks?" someone asked behind him. It was Karen Yu. She put a hand on Syaoran's shoulder. Syaoran shook it off gently and pretended that he has a shoulder pain.

"Oh… Yu… I need to go now…"

"Feel free to call me Karen, pretty boy," she said quite seductively. "I'm glad I didn't ring with me the Syaoran Fan Club or else they could've taken you away from me! And what's with the rush?"

"I just… need to do school stuff," he lied. But Karen seems to believe every word he says; Syaoran knows that, so he puts that into advantage.

"Well… Let's try going out on a Saturday night one of these days, okay?"

Syaoran didn't respond. He ran as fast as he could, wherever his feet may take him.

**TBC**

**AUTHOR'S NOTES with darkshadow36:**

There! Sorry if I have to leave you in a cliffy, I know you hate cliffhangers, but I really need to get going now. I do hope you enjoyed this chap, and please wait for the next chapter too if you can! Please read and review! Thank you!


	8. Waiting For Time

**AUTHOR'S NOTES with darkshadow36:**

Another update, from yours truly! The world is really getting quite dizzy now, eh? Sometimes the key to things shall remain a mystery… You'll understand as we go on. By reading this chap, you may uncover things, and suggestions can be welcome also, but as of now… _Gack, just read, k?_

_**: MAIN CHARACTERS:**_

**Li Syaoran** – clueless of what's _behind_ him  
**Sakura Kinomoto** – darkened over her dark past  
**Tomoyo Daidouji** – optimistic and willing to help  
**Eriol Hiiragizawa** – has his hidden talents

**_: SUMMARY FOR CHAPTER 8:_** Is movie date gonna do it? On the other hand, Madam is now thinking of a plot on how to capture Sakura Kinomoto and make sure she's dead meat… Watch out, some secrets and a bit of the past will be revealed! And, what's happening to Eriol and Tomoyo's relationship… And it looks like their relationship's being challenged…

**(UPDATED: December 31, 2005) Chapter 8: Waiting for Time**

**-0-**

'_Some ickle brat got me to kiss him (MY FIRST KISS!)… Oh, how I hate Li! And to think I gave in. I guess he was right—he's not the only one who thinks stupid.' _Sakura wrote in her calendar for the 6th day. She found herself quite confused with her feelings… She started racking her brains like mad.

'_I can hardly believe what a prat I actually am—I kissed Kinomoto because of a little girl named Yuma… And she's smart for her age! I mean, that's kinda creepy, ne?'_ Syaoran wrote shortly on his calendar.

_**Day 6**_

"Our plan yesterday worked _somehow_, Madam," said a man with amber eyes. His voice was quite deep. The dimly lit room made him shudder a little. "We're sorry, but after all, you only told us to make it a threat…"

"_Somehow?_ Nervous, aren't you, Wally?" the woman called 'Madam' said quite icily. Her voice was crisp and cold. "Don't worry, once I get hold of the girl's fortune, once the girl's dead, you and Frank, and especially Yukon and Sherri of course, shall get what you deserve."

"Thank you, Madam," Wally bowed so low his head, which was bald touched the floor. "And by the way, that girl looked scared when she looked into my eyes. Maybe she exactly thought of our plan of deceiving her it may be Syaoran."

Madam's hawk-like yellow eyes flickered. She gave an evil laugh.

"Ooh, I can hardly wait to get my hands on her fortune. And what's more? She doesn't know I can use Syaoran on her since we kind of have _a special relationship_… She doesn't know what I can do with that best friend of hers either."

"But Madam, when we last confronted with the Kinomoto girl, she was so tough," Frank said quite feebly.

"Frank Harper, don't be a chicken," Madam laughed. "I'm sure she has a weakness, and that shall be your mission for now. Find out what her weakness is."

Wally sighed. "I don't think there's no need for that, Madam. I think her weakness is about the death of her family."

"Our problem is Syaoran, he's very close to her," said Frank.

Madam's eyes glinted. "Syaoran is the least of my problems. I'm sure he wouldn't mind if we borrow his best friend for a while; and then soon, when we'll hand Sakura to him, the girl will be as dead as her dear father, the man I have planted grudge against with."

**-0-**

"_THE HAUNTED HALLOWEEN, showing today at theaters near you, _this is what the flier says," said Sakura as she and her friends looked at the fliers on the walls along their way home. "Its next showing this afternoon is at… eh? Four o'clock… About twenty minutes more in my wristwatch! I think I'm in the mood to watch a horror movie today. How about you guys?"

The three looked at each other. "Well, we haven't got much homework to do today anyway, so I suppose we should all go and check this out—" Syaoran shrugged.

"Maybe it'll be much better if Tomoyo and I won't join both of you—" Eriol started when Sakura scowled at him.

"No, I want you to join us," she said flatly. "And about yesterday, I've been thinking of it all night. Both of you left on purpose didn't cha? You knew what Yuma was like around two people of the opposite sex together! There's no use hiding, I now know. I asked your butler this morning. Oh, and don't get angry with your butler. I forced him."

But Tomoyo didn't looked angry or anything. She was smiling. "I'm not angry," she said. "I was just surprised you were able to discover it. Anyway… All right, Eriol and I will join you. Now that's something in return! Satisfied?" her voice was filled with amused sarcasm.

"Of course," Sakura nodded. "Well… Is this supposed to be a _Dutch treat_?"

"Definitely," Syaoran said. "I haven't got enough money to treat all of you."

"Same here," Eriol spoke up.

So that afternoon, the four walked going to the Silverwing Mall, just a few walking distances from the school of Redstone. Later at the movie house…

"_Ha! Ha! Ha!"_ Sakura laughed, clutching her stomach.

"I'm wondering if we actually went to the right movie house for _The Haunted Halloween_ movie," Tomoyo continued to watch the giant screen while grinning at the same time. "This seems like a funny movie instead of a horror one."

"Maybe the movie staff tricked us into thinking this is a horror movie since they know lots of people today love watching scary kind of movies, so that their movie will earn much money and stuff like that," Eriol suggested.

This time Sakura was looking at the giant screen with wide eyes. She looked quite scared now.

"And to think she told us that she was in the mood to watch something scary," Tomoyo said while looking at Sakura. Eriol chuckled quietly.

"What's up?" his girlfriend asked her.

"Nothing, Tomoyo-chan," he continued to put up his Cheshire cat smile. Tomoyo shrugged and just continued watching.

Eriol wasn't watching though. He can't help but smile. Just the same ol' pretty boy smile. He somehow wanted to laugh, but he knew he just couldn't.

He kept on glancing around Syaoran and Sakura if they're both scared to death already.

It's because, if they ARE scared now, they'll be holding on to each other and… _and…_

"_RAARRRRRRR!"_

"Aah!" Sakura almost screamed out too loud, together with the other people inside the movie house.

This time, amidst all the shouting and yelling audience, Eriol finally managed to laugh as loud as he can, after all, people won't hear him. He finally saw it—Sakura holding on to Syaoran tightly in fear.

But he felt someone holding on to him, too. It was Tomoyo.

"Didn't you see that, Eriol-kun?" she said, catching her breath. Eriol went bright pink. He found himself caressing her hair. He never realized the pleasure of having to touch that long, silky smooth hair…

"Wow…" He said thoughtlessly, still looking at Syaoran and Sakura's moment. He grinned.

"Uh… _Eriol-kun_?"

Eriol readily answered without waiting for the question, "I'm looking at our _hate-lovebirds_." Tomoyo looked and laughed softly, for the people were finished shouting.

"Hmm… A scoop waiting to happen at school, students will watch out for that," she whispered. "Don't tell them about that, okay, Eriol-kun?"

"All right then, I'll keep that in mind," a manly voice she didn't recognized whispered softly in her ear. The voice seemed quite calm, but it was sort of seductive.

Tomoyo gulped quite nervously. She can feel her hands sweat. "Who… W-Who…"

"A fellow schoolmate, that's all… Daidouji," the guy answered back. "See you at school, then."

"_Wait…_" Tomoyo turned around immediately, but he was gone.

That was creepier than what had just happened in the movie.

"Kinomoto, _would you stop holding my sleeve?_" Syaoran, who was blushing madly, said gently as not to offend Sakura, but she was still holding on to it.

"Li…" she shivered a bit. "The monster…"

Syaoran shook his head. "Uh, it's quite okay now, the girl was able to escape from the monster's clutches…"

"But… I'm still scared…"

"Be brave, all right? I'm telling you, holding on to my sleeve that tight won't help you solve your problem or whatsoever. Try to overcome your fear, Kinomoto. Nothing will happen if you'll just hide—"

Sakura finally let go. But she still felt Syaoran's warmth…

'_How I wish this moment could last forever…'_ Sakura thought, but all of a sudden she was shaking her head furiously.

"Yes, I do believe it could…" Sakura heard the girl in the movie said.

**-0-**

Madam walked around the room, thinking of a better plan to get hold of Sakura Kinomoto.

"She may be smart," she kept on walking, her left hand cupping her chin thoughtfully, "but I shall prove to her that we adults are smarter than kids. _We_ shall prove it. Our experiences could help us, ne?" Wally and Frank simply looked at her.

"To tell you frankly, Madam," Wally looked as if he would smirk, "I absolutely think that's sort-of childish. You know, playing that kind of game with teens. I believe that youth today aren't like what we used to be before…"

Madam was silent. She looked out the window and watched street children play with smiles on their faces. Even if they lived on the squatters' area just on the other side of Blackwind Street, she could see that their status in life wasn't much of a hindrance for them.

"Uhh… Madam?" Frank inquired.

Madam said absolutely nothing. When Wally mentioned about what they were like before, she remembered _him_, the man she loved but turned her down…

**-FLASHBACK-**

_They were 15 during that time, in 3rd year high school._

"_Hi, Trudee," an exceptionally handsome young lad waved over at the other table. "Want to sit with us? You're alone back there."_

"_I-I'm okay," said the girl, who blushed. "Never mind, I'm about to finish my lunch anyway, but thanks for worrying, Kinomoto."_

_Then she heard his friends babbling about her like mad._

"_Don't ask that girl, okay, Fujitaka? She's not that pretty at all and she's just a riffraff—"_

"_Don't you dare call her that, Elwin," snapped Fujitaka. "She's very nice, and her status in life and her physique doesn't matter to me."_

_Fujitaka Kinomoto was the school's heartthrob. Probably the 'perfect' lad in school—with that neatly combed hair, with his captivating and warm eyes, his friendly terms towards others, his good grades and having an athletic lifestyle, girls drool over him. And, he's a rich kid._

_One day, while Fujitaka was resting under a cherry blossom tree without his friends, she was about to approach him when fear overtook her._

'_How can I tell him that I liked him ever since we became good friends at the start of school year?' she thought earnestly._

"_Hey, it's you, Trudee," Fujitaka smiled as soon as he saw her. "Come here and sit with me. The wind is perfectly calm and cool especially here at the grounds. I'm glad most students don't pass by here, so that means I can have a time alone with myself without much noise."_

_She sat down and avoided meeting his eyes. "You love silence too, just like me." She thought of something quite sensible to say, but these words came out from her mouth, "Uhh, thanks a lot for everything, you know."_

"_What are you thanking me for?" Fujitaka grinned. When she didn't reply, he just said, "I'm the approachable type of person anyway, so it's okay, that's nothing. I should be the one thanking you, especially right now since you're here."_

_She suddenly felt tense. His words seemed to make her feel uncomfortable. "What do you m-mean?" she spluttered._

"_I just needed someone to talk to about my feelings right now, that's all. But I don't want to tell my friends about it, I just don't know why."_

_Gertrude gulped a little. _"_I suppose you can tell me about it, but wait, you know, I think I'm glad too that I have someone to talk to also about my feelings…"_

_Fujitaka looked at her with a gleeful smile. "Really? You're feeling something for someone also?"_

"_Y… Yeah, I am. If you don't mind me asking, who's the lucky girl--?"_

_He laughed. "All right, but please promise me you won't tell the girl or anyone else, k?"_

"_I promise," she gulped quite nervously. 'What if that girl is me?' she thought._

"_The person I like… It's our classmate, Nadeshiko Amamiya. How about you?"_

_Nadeshiko Amamiya? That pretty girl who's so nice to everybody? That simple girl who doesn't like crowds much? That humble girl who never even thought of becoming popular with guys, though she is? That girl who…_

"_So, I said it," Fujitaka was blushing. She's never seen him blush before because of a girl he likes. "Who do you like then?"_

"_I… I like…" she felt her world turn upside down. She stood up quickly and ran away._

'_I thought he likes me… But why is that? Why? Why? I just can't take it…'_

"_Wait, Gertrude!" Fujitaka ran after her._

"_Did I say anything wrong?" he asked himself._

**-END FLASHBACK-**

"What are you thinking about, Madam?" asked Wally. "Frank and I are waiting for our next move through your orders."

"Wally, are you stupid?" Frank snapped, hitting Wally the baldhead. Wally moaned. "Madam has just told us that we are to find out for ourselves the girl's weakness."

Wally felt stupid, but as not to look real stupid in front of Frank, he whispered, "I know that, Frank… I just… Want to break the ice."

_No, I shall not let my feelings take over now. I need my revenge. _She thought.

**-0-**

"I must say, it was fantastic," Sakura looked very happy when the four of them stepped out of the movie house.

"And to think you were the one who kept screaming all the time…" Syaoran sniggered. Sakura scowled at him.

Tomoyo cleared her throat loudly. "Stop bickering, will you? And wait… You still have to follow the rules, right?" she said with those innocent eyes. "So… I suggest you walk Sakura home, Syaoran-kun…"

"Oh, that won't be a bother, I'd even be glad to," Syaoran said as though he doesn't really mind at all.

"Oh really?" Eriol sneered. "What if I add this? Walk her home… Hand in hand. Got it, dude?"

Syaoran's head spun around and looked at Sakura who just looked at the road. _C'mon, Sakura, at least you say something and contradict as usual…_ He thought desperately. But there's definitely no turning back now.

"That's settled then," Tomoyo smiled. "And we're now in… Well, almost here at Bluebell Street—oh, here we are now! And you shall now hold hands…" She turned to Syaoran and Sakura who were both avoiding each other's gazes. "Do it! Eriol and I are just… We're right behind you, guiding your every step."

Syaoran didn't look as he slowly searched for Sakura's hand beside him. He can feel his sweat dripping under the hot sun. And when he was able to feel her hand, he gulped.

As for Sakura, when she felt Syaoran's hand in hers, she can feel goose pimples all over her.

"They're feeling _queasy_, I think…" Eriol observed them.

Tomoyo chuckled. "Nah, I think they're _cozy_."

"What if…" Eriol quickly held Tomoyo's hand and they, too, walked holding hands. Tomoyo looked quietly at Eriol, who was looking away. Their faces were pink.

**-0-**

Just then the door opened.

"Hey, it's ickle master Syaoran," Wally smirked as Syaoran entered with a smile.

"Now this is a surprise—you're smiling. How come?" Frank asked anxiously. Syaoran leaned against a wall and said nothing, continuing to smile. Then—

"Gertrude?" he said, "You've been staring at me for quite a while… What's up?"

"Nothing you should know," Wally mumbled. Frank laughed. Syaoran suddenly felt suspicious. He raised an eyebrow.

'_Watch out for Gertrude for me, k?' _Nakuru reminded him again the last time they met.

When Gertrude sensed that something seems to bother Syaoran about it, she quickly cleared her throat and said aloud, "Be quiet, you two. Don't spoil our little boy's happiness."

**-0-**

Syaoran went to his little quaint room. It was all his adoptive mother could ever provide him. But he didn't mind. He has accepted already long ago that his adoptive parents were poor.

When Syaoran was six years old, he lost his real family, and he didn't know why. They live a normal life. That time, Sakura was already his best friend. He found it hard to cry for the death of his family because of Sakura. She taught him how to be brave. It was her. She brought him to a new light. These sufferings will soon be over.

'_If your parents were alive, they would tell you the same thing,'_ she kept on telling him. '_I'm sure they want you to go on with life, so be brave. Crying will get you nowhere.'_

She was such a smart kid back then, until now.

Syaoran had to live in an orphanage for a year after the death of his parents and sisters. News about their burial didn't reach him. Only Sakura went to console him, so she visited him almost everyday, until that time came when he saw on TV the news about the death of Sakura's family. He watched the news alone. He already expected Sakura wouldn't pay him a visit that day. Bored, he turned on the TV and Kimitaka Yu's face appeared on the screen.

"_Mr. And Mrs. Kinomoto, the richest people in town, have just died at exactly 11 this morning,"_ he was saying. "_It was also reported that their eldest son Touya was nowhere to be found, and people say that his body must have been burned along with the enormous fire. As for their youngest, Sakura, she was found to be by the beach this morning…"_ Syaoran found himself relieved.

"At least my best friend's safe… But her family…" he mumbled. He sighed sadly. Just then—

"_Here's Ji An Shinohara with an interview with little Sakura—"_

"This man doesn't report that well," Syaoran shook his head. "Saying _little_ to a kid who belongs to a respected family seems like an understatement…" But he still watched and saw Sakura on TV.

"_How do you feel—?"_ Ji An Shinohara wasn't able to finish her sentence when Sakura interrupted her.

"How do I feel?" Sakura said, her face red and her eyes brimming with tears, "isn't it obvious, you wretched woman?" The reporter went bright red, embarrassed. "You see my family's dead, the whole lot of 'em, and you ask about how I feel for them now that they're dead? Why, how would you feel if you were in my place—"

She can't take it anymore. She ran wherever her feet may take her.

Syaoran wasn't surprised. _This woman doesn't report very well either,_ he thought. Then he approached a nun who just came in to watch the TV with him.

"Uh, Sister Jin, mind if I go out for a while?" he asked, taking his chances. Sister Jin was the most approachable nun in the orphanage, for she is there all the time for the children.

Sister Jin looked at him intently with her clear blue green eyes. "What for, Syaoran, dear?"

"Well… That young girl on TV is my best friend… And I just wanna see how she's doing," Syaoran replied quite nervously.

The nun sighed. "Wow, Sakura is surely lucky to have such a caring friend like you, _but_…"

Syaoran expected that last word.

"I have been given strict orders not to let any of you children out," she said sadly. "And besides, you don't know where your friend could've gone to."

Syaoran exhaled deeply. "Yeah, that's true," he tried to fight for his desire, "but maybe I know where to find her—"

"No," the nun said firmly and gently. "I'm really sorry about it, and your friend too. I would so much like to help you—"

"In that case, you can go with me!" Syaoran said desperately, "Please, Sister Jin…"

"No," the nun repeated. "And that's final."

"But—"

But the nun shook her head and then she looked at the boy sympathetically. Feeling sorry for him, she went outside.

"Stupid reporters," Syaoran turned off the TV, quite pissed off.

**-0-**

That night Sakura wrote for her Day 6…

'_GRR… Tomoyo! When we got out of the movie house, she was able to convince Li to walk me home. And to add it all up, Eriol butted in and made us walk hand-in-hand… And they… Oh, I GIVE UP. I wish I could but I already promised to keep on with it…'_ Then she drew a big SAD face (like that of smiley face). But when she thought of their holding hands again, she shook her head furiously.

"GEEZ!" she yelled, her voice echoing across her room.

Syaoran, meanwhile wrote very fast…

'_I wondered why I was smiling when I got home. Maybe it's because of Kinomoto when I walked her home—we were holding hands… I couldn't help it, I actually… blushed.'_

And he went crimson as he repeated what he wrote twice.

**-0-**

_**Day 7**_

Sakura and Eriol sat down on the fields during the morning break. They watched as the other students played around them.

"Everything seems to go wrong for me…" Sakura said sadly. "I just don't know why…"

"Is Syaoran part of it?" Eriol said quietly.

Sakura looked up at the sky and watched the birds fly around. "Maybe, maybe not…" She sighed. "Gee, I'm such a confusing person, aren't I?"

"No, Sakura-chan, I don't think of you that way," Eriol grinned. "Because… I also feel as though I have a knack for confusing people… Besides, we've known each other for a few years already, and we're still as close as ever."

"Yeah," Sakura smiled simply. "I'm glad we're friends, and I'm glad I can confide in you my problems…"

"Same here," Eriol said, and then he and Sakura did a high five. And then they were silent again.

"So, what's your problem anyway?" Sakura asked Eriol. "And why did you have to… err… you know… _Edge away_ your girlfriend and stuff…"

_FLASHBACK_

The bell rang for morning break. "Hey, Tomoyo-chan," Eriol went to Syaoran and Tomoyo's classroom. Sakura walked along with him. "You mind if Sakura and I won't join you both for break this morning? The teacher called for us, and…" Sakura gaped at Eriol, but said nothing.

_He should have a valid reason for this one,_ she thought to herself.

"I'm okay with it, unless Syaoran-kun isn't," Tomoyo sneered at Syaoran whose eyes went round at her. "I mean, not being with Sakura-chan…"

"Okay then… We shall meet this lunch time at the cafeteria, k?" Eriol tried not to hasten his tone.

The other two nodded, and both duos went on their ways.

_END FLASHBACK_

"I did that on purpose for us to… have a bonding even just once in a while," Eriol gave a smile. "Ever since it became _us_," he gestured to himself and did some hand signals as though he was pointing at an invisible Tomoyo, "You know—err, I think I have forgotten you… Have I?"

Sakura laughed. "Nah, of course not… After all, I was busy with Li. At least I know you still have concern for me…" Her eyebrows went up and down. "So what's your problem?" She repeated. "When you said _bonding_, it probably means you have a problem you want us to talk about."

The warm wind blew in. The students continued running around the fields, chasing birds…

"You're smart." And this time Eriol turned quite pale, his smile fading. "It's Tomoyo…"

Sakura gasped. "What?" she said. "But you both looked happy with each other! How come she's your problem? And being the talk of the school, you're sweet with each other and—"

"I shouldn't have been too fast about making her my girlfriend," he said. He looked it.

"But you both looked so perfect together, even many say so," Sakura put a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Get straight to your problem with her, if you don't mind."

Eriol straightened his glasses, and did an afterthought. "I don't think she's ready yet about having me as her… _boyfriend_," his face reddens slightly whenever he mentions girlfriend-boyfriend. "She doesn't seem _so_ serious about us, and I've been observing her actions towards me for quite a while… The fact that she seems more focused about pairing you and Syaoran together…"

"Well, I can't give you any advice, to be frank about it," Sakura felt quite stupid about saying that, but she continued, "But all I could offer now is a shoulder you can lean on and I can always be someone you can talk to about your problems and stuff. I want to ask you first… What do you really feel for Tomoyo-chan? Do you still love her?"

Eriol let out a deep breath. "Uhh… Of course I do… _I love her so much you'll say it's too much…_" he blushed, and then grinned. "How I wish she returns back my feelings… My real feelings… I mean, I'm really serious about her."

"I'm sure she will," Sakura reassured him. Eriol looked at her skeptically. "Someday she'll realize she loves you too that much. Who wouldn't want a guy like you? You're sincere… Everything."

"Eriol-kun, I have no doubt about it," she smiled when she saw his expression. "Definitely. So rest assured, just… Go on and live your life the way you think it should be. Only _you_ can handle your destiny. _I_ can't hold it for you. Often you have to learn how to depend on yourself. That sounds rash, but that's what I think, and that's how I live my life. Ever since my parents died…"

"Sakura-chan…" Eriol said. "I'm sorry I made you go to that… That topic about your parents…"

"Nah," Sakura shook her head. "It's time I bury the shadows of yesterday. And… I think it's time I tell you about what really happened to my past."

"Are you ready though?" he said hastily. She nodded, and he saw sincerity in her expressive eyes.

"Whoa," she stretched her arms and then she pouted. Eriol laughed at her.

"Haha, cute pout, I must say," he said, "Now go on. I'm giving you the floor."

**-0-**

At the cafeteria, students can be seen eating on their tables, chatting, laughing, and eating… But two people seemed aloof from them from a corner…

"Eriol-kun… Why does he seem so distant even when I'm with him?" Two tears fell on Tomoyo's cheeks. Syaoran patted her comfortingly on the back.

"But Eriol seems really serious about you… To be frank, maybe _you_ are not serious about him," he told her. "I don't want to hurt you or anything, okay? It's just that…"

"I understand," Tomoyo wiped her tears with her handkerchief. "Maybe I really wasn't serious about him, I mean, it all happened so fast! How I wish I could turn back time… The first time we met, and then I don't have to fall in love with him!"

"You're confusing me, my friend," Syaoran turned his head in circles. "The first time you met, you told me you liked him. And now that you're together, which is a dream come true for you, you're turning back! You're not yet on your first month together, yet you now seem to lose hope so immediately."

Tomoyo took a bite off her sandwich. "Maybe I am not ready to have a relationship yet at all," she said sadly. "But… I'm not _blinded by love_… I… I actually love Eriol _so much you'll say it's too much_! I… I…" She put her head on Syaoran's shoulder and cried. "I don't feel so confident myself… Maybe it's because many people say bad things about me."

"They're just jealous," Syaoran assured her. "I suppose you're conscious whenever you're with Eriol, especially when girls follow him and all that stuff—"

"Syaoran-kun, how does it feel to be a heartthrob?" Tomoyo cut in. The latter cupped his chin and thought for several seconds.

"It's a pressure," he finally said. "Makes you feel conscious since people expect you to always look poised and look good… You become a celebrity item or whatsoever. However, I don't care about looking that good all the time." He grinned. "It's nice being yourself at certain times. I don't know how Eriol feels about being one, but definitely he's not the type whose pride takes over when it's about fame. How are you feeling right now? You're connected to him, and that means you're now one of those famous people in school. Girls are surely jealous and envious of you."

"I think I'm feeling better now," Tomoyo replied with a smile. "Thanks for taking the time to talk to me… It must have been horrible for your part. I'm sorry."

Syaoran shook his head. "Don't mention it. We're friends, right? And to be honest with you… I think it'd be better for you to stick with Eriol. At least he's someone I know, and we're good friends. I don't like the idea of you going out with anybody I don't know. I'm sure Kinomoto-san would have said the same thing."

"You're still calling her Kinomoto, yet you were childhood friends," Tomoyo clicked something from beside her. Syaoran tried to look.

"What was that?"

"I recorded our conversation," she held up a recording device. "I'm just going to put this in my box of memories…"

"You mean to say your crying was fake?" Syaoran's chestnut brown eyes went huge.

"Oh, don't be a prat, of course it was all true. Besides, I only did that just to do… Uh, I wanted to practice recording 'coz I need to do _something_."

Syaoran seemed to smell something fishy. "Does _something_ have to do with Kinomoto and me?"

"Maybe," was all she said.

Syaoran cupped his chin again to do some thinking. 'Hmm… One of these days it'll be your and Eriol's turn to be paired up by us… I'm gonna have to talk to Kinomoto about this one."

"Hello, Daidouji. Remember me?"

**-0-**

"Hmm… Now that's something… What happened next?"

_RRRRRRRRRRIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINNNNNGGGGGGGGGG!_

The faithful and _punctual_ bell rang for next class.

"Oh well," Sakura bit her lip. "I guess we'll just have to continue this talk later… Or tomorrow?"

"I don't know, either," Eriol shrugged as they both stood up from the grass. "Come what may. C'mon, let's just get to our classroom."

"Stupid bell," Sakura kicked the rock near her as they stood up from the grass.

**-0-**

"Who the hell are you?" Syaoran stood up. Tomoyo did too, but it was because she heard the bell rang. But the lad in front of them continued to smile mischievously.

"I'm a fan and admirer of yours, Daidouji," he said, "_One day you'll be mine._ I've reached the part of your conversation about your worries with your relationship with Hiiragizawa. If you were _never_ going to make up again, I'd advise you to… _Just go with me…_ And _I'll make you happy_."

"Are you the _fellow schoolmate_ from yesterday?" Tomoyo asked, remembering about what happened to her in the movie house. "Because if you were him, I certainly didn't like your way of stalking me or what. And eavesdropping in conversations wasn't a right thing to do at all! C'mon, Syaoran-kun, talking and trying to argue with this man is pointless."

"Who are you, anyway?" Syaoran repeated.

"I'm a senior," he replied. "Don't forget me Daidouji! Bye sweetie!" he laughed.

"Why, you—" But Syaoran felt himself being dragged by Tomoyo.

"I told you," she said, "it's pointless trying to argue with him. Whoever he is, I definitely… Aargh, let's just get to next class."

**-0-**

"Hey, this is where Sakura lives, together with her adoptive parents, Yukon and Sherri," a man in glasses said. He looked up at the man next to him.

"Yes," the latter smiled. "I'm glad we'll be seeing each other very soon. What do you think of moving to this house next to theirs? After all, there are no occupants, and it's being rented. We're lucky to find a house next to theirs. I would love to watch out for Sakura. But of course, plans must be straightened out first… And it looks like Gertrude is on the run."

"She's the woman Li Syaoran's living with, right?"

"Yeah, and I told Nakuru to simply warn that Li boy about her. But the time will come she'll tell him why."

**TBC**

**AUTHOR'S NOTES with darkshadow36:**

_Who was that new guy?_ Hmm… Maybe he's a minor character only, but let's see if he'll be of use in the end. _And what did Sakura exactly told Eriol? Do you think Eriol and Tomoyo will ever have the chance to make up again? If yes, how?_

Now that you know Gertrude is Madam, _what do you think will be her next move? Will Syaoran be able to find out what's she really planning… And from Chapter 6, what does Nakuru know about Gertrude? Who were the two people talking in the last part of this chapter? Are they enemies? Or… Sakura's only chance of getting past Gertrude?_

If you want to know why I put up the main characters part in every part of the story… Well, they're updated about every 4 chapters.

But anyway, I do hope you found out a lot about this chapter. Let's see what we have for Chapter 9… There'll be lots of _treating_… And… Haha, I don't want to spoil. Maybe it'll be more of that _sweet_ stuff for the next chaps to come. Oh yeah… I know this chap was boring… Haha! After all, I believe we're still on the beginning of the story.

Ja ne! Please do read and review. Thanks a lot for the support, pips! And have a HAPPY NEW YEAR AS WELL, of course.


End file.
